


Run Away With Me

by CookieWaffle



Category: LOZ - Fandom, Legend of Zelda, Zelink - Fandom, legend of zelda breath of the wild, loz botw - Fandom
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Link is a big sweetheart, Modern AU, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Prom, Running from cops, Selectively Mute Link, She's also kind of like a big sis to Zelda as well, Trans Link, Urbosa is the best mom, child abuse tw, he is the best boy 10/10, high school romance, road trip au, teenage runaways, the champion squad gets into wacky shenanigans, trans headcanons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2018-11-28 11:47:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 57,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11417313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CookieWaffle/pseuds/CookieWaffle
Summary: Sometimes your true family isn't the one you were born into.Link and Zelda are two troubled teens who decided to run away from it all. Their school conslour, Urbosa, helps them in their escape to freedom, while also picking up a few other troubled friends along the way.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been coming up with a lot of ideas for this fic for a while now. Please tell me what you think of the story as I updae it! Feedback is what really keeps me motivated to update more.

Sometimes your true family isn't the one you were born into. Zelda Bosphoramus Hyrule learned that when she was 16 years old. 

Ever since Zelda was a young girl her father had put extreme pressure on her to do well at school, especially after her mother had died when she was only 6. She rarely had time for leisure or fun activities. She needed to focus on studying and becoming a well educated adult so that she could have a high paying career. Well that's what her father wanted anyways. She didn't have many friends either. It wasn't because she was unliked though. In fact she had quite a likable personality. She just didn't have the time to put into friendships. After school she always had to go straight home, there was no time to hang out with friends. She needed that time to study. And whenever she was late she was punished, so she always made sure to be on time.  
Zelda was sitting in math class one day bored out of her mind. She already knew the subject that they were currently on so the only thing she could do was listen to her teacher drone on and on about decimals and fractions and whatever else math related stuff. Zelda tried to pass the time by looking around the classroom to see if she could spot things she hadn't noticed before. It wasn't exactly the most interesting activity but it was at least something. Her eyes scanned the room for anything at least remotely interesting. There were some outdated mid-2000's teacher related memes taped to one of the walls, one of those "believe in yourself" posters that nobody reads or takes seriously, a jar of peanut M&Ms on the teacher's desk, and a tiny phallic drawing on the corner of the whiteboard that the teacher had yet to notice.

"Well isn't that just lovely." Zelda thought to herself sarcastically. 

She continued her scan of the classroom until she notice something she wasn't expecting. It was a new student, sitting in the far back corner of the classroom. She had a hard time figuring out if the new student was a boy or a girl. She wanted to say boy but they almost looked too feminine to not be a girl. Then Zelda figured trying to assume would be rude of her so she just dropped the thought. Either way though, the new student's appearance caught Zelda's attention a bit with their golden colored hair, rosy cheeks, and bright blue eyes with long dark eyelashes. She had to admit that they were quite attractive, but she didn't let it affect her. She wasn't really interested in romance at the moment anyways, and her father certainly wouldn't allow it since he saw it as a distraction from her education.  
The bell rang for lunch break and Zelda made her way to the library to get a head start on some homework. 

Zelda then heard a familiar voice. "Hey there kid." 

It was Urbosa, a close friend of hers. But not the typical kind of friend a kid would usually make at school. Urbosa wasn't even in the same age group as Zelda. She was a gerudo woman in her early 30s and she worked as a counsoler. Zelda spent a lot of time in the school library, which is where Urbosa's office was, so they got the chance to het to know each other pretty well over the past 3 years. 

"Oh, hello Urbosa. I'm doing some homework." Zelda said not looking up from her paper.

Urbosa sat down on the seat next to her. "Ugh, today sure has been a drag." 

"Tell me about it." Zelda responded. 

"Nothing interesting happen today?" Urbosa asked.

"Not really. Well, there was a new student in my last class but other than that nothing." Zelda replied.

"New kid? You say hi?" Urbosa inquired.

"No, I don't even know their name yet." Zelda replied again.

"You know you should really make some other friends other than just me Zelly. I won't be staying for much longer." Said Urbosa.

Zelda suddenly looked up at her friend. "What? You're leaving? Why?"

"Yea, I've been planning to hit the road again when this school year is over. Maybe find a new job somewhere else. Working at a high school just isn't really me. It never was to be honest." Urbosa replied.

"Yea I guess I can see that..." Zelda said as her ears drooped down.

"Hey don't worry kid you'll be alright without me." Urbosa tried to reassure her.

"Yea, I guess so. As long as I keep my grades up that is..." Zelda said.

"Oh yea and another thing, try not to let your father get to you so much okay? You're already a really smart girl and he shouldn't pressure you so much." Urbosa said.

"It's not like I really have any choice... last time I got a B- he yelled at me so much I think the neighbors heard." Zelda said sadly.

"Jeez! I sure wish I could tell him a thing or two!" Urbosa said through gritted teeth. Then she let out a sigh. "Well I gotta get back to work. Good luck kid."

"Bye..." Zelda said softly.

She didn't want her friend to leave, but she didn't try to stop her. At least Urbosa had the freedom to leave. Zelda never had that. She always felt like she was trapped and had no control over her life. Her father was the one who always told her how to live her life.  
The bell rang and Zelda headed off to her next class which was science, one of her favorite subjects besides history. When she arrived she was surprised to that the new student was in this class as well. And just like math class, they sat in the far back corner of the room. 

Towards the end of class the teacher made an announcement, "Today I am assigning you all a group project that will be due in two weeks and will make up 15% of your grade."

Everyone in the classroom collectively groaned. Zelda wouldn't have minded if it weren't for the fact that the project would effect a huge percent of her grade. Even though she usually did well in science, she could still feel the anxiety rushing through her. 

The teacher spoke again, "And I will be assigning you your partners for you."

The classroom collectivity groaned once again. All of the other kids were paired off before the teacher got to Zelda and the new kid last.

"And as for you Zelda I guess you'll have to be partnered with our new student." The teacher said. Then she looked over to the new kid and asked, "Um, what is your name again?"

Everyone turned to look at the new kid and Zelda could see them tense up and their ears quickly flatten down. And they didn't answer, they just shrunk back into their seat. Zelda could clearly see that the kid was very uncomfortable with the attention they were getting.

The teacher had a confused look on her face. "Well... I guess I'll just look it up. You may all get to work now. You have 10 minutes of class left and the rest will have to be done on your own time."

Zelda walked over and sat down next to her new partner and tried to make a friendly introduction. "Hello! My name is Zelda. What's your name?"

The new kid only gave a small wave but didn't say anything. Zelda could see them blushing a bit too.

"....Well uh... I guess you could tell me later then..." Zelda was beginning to feel a bit awkward, "Sooo.... Do you have any ideas for what we can base our project on?"

The new kid just gave a small shrug and looked at the ground. 

For a while there a painfully awkward silence between the two until Zelda finally broke it by saying, "You know we should exchange phone numbers so we can keep each other updated on how the project is going when we're not working on it together."

The new kid gave a little nod and pulled out their phone. Zelda told them her number and her partner wrote theirs down on a piece of paper for her. Then not long after the bell rang.

"I guess I'll text you later then. Bye..." Zelda said before leaving.

Her partner only gave a little wave goodbye.

When she got home she immediately went up to her room to do the rest of her homework. Thankfully she didn't have much that day. When she was about halfway through it she got a text.

Phone Number: Hello! It's science your partner. 

Zelda started texting back.

Zelda: Hi! Did you come up with an idea for our project yet?

Phone Number: Yea, I think I might have something. Oh, and the name's Link btw. Sorry for acting so weird in class. I have selective mutism around people I don't know well so yeaaaa... that happens a lot... Again, really sorry.

Zelda felt kind of bad all of a sudden. She had no idea he had an anxiety disorder. That must have been why he acted the way he did when the teacher asked his name and everyone in the class turned to look at him. She quickly changed his contact name to "Link" before replying.

Zelda: Don't worry it's fine. Besides, I have clinical anxiety myself.

Link: Oh, I guess we have something in common then at least. 

Zelda: Yea I guess so. Oh, and I've been meaning to ask... Sorry if I come off as rude but, are you a girl or a boy? I mean I know Link is a boy's name but you also look sort of... like a girl. So I didn't want to assume.

Link: Oh I'm a boy. Sorry for the confusion. I didn't think I was that obvious...

Zelda: You didn't think what was obvious?

Link: Ah, you know what nvm forget I said that please.

Zelda: Oh... Okay. Sorry.

Link: It's okay.

Zelda: And please don't think I see you looking feminine as a bad thing! It's okay really! I don't mind at all!

Zelda thought to herself, "Zelda you idiot what are you doing just shut up oh my gods!!!"

Link: Oh, thanks! Usually I'm used to people giving me a hard time for that. I actually prefer to look androgynous. I don't like gender letting roles dictate how I should dress or act. It’s just when people call me a girl when I get a little bit uncomfortable... Not that being a girl is a bad thing! I just prefer people seeing me more as a boy... 

Zelda: Oh I'm really sorry about getting confused then...

Link: No worries! I'm glad you asked before assuming. 

Zelda: Oh well that's a relief 

Zelda: Back to topic now though.

Link: Oh yea. Sorry I kinda trailed off there. 

Link: So anyways I've always wanted to do one of those volcano things. How does that sound?

Zelda: I don't know. That sounds like it could be messy and my dad hates it when I make a mess anywhere in the house. Unless you're parents don't mind if we do it at your house that is.

Link: Aaaaah, I wouldn't do that. My dad doesn't like visitors. I'm not even sure if he's let me go over to your house either. I've got a REALLY strict curfew.

Zelda: Really? He won't let you come over even though this is really big for your grade? My dad has a strict curfew for me too but he'd let me go over to someone's house if it was for school.

Link: Hmmm.... Well maybe if I tell him that he'll let me out for a little while. Although I can't say for sure :/

Zelda: Well either way we should probably come up with a new idea.

Link: Yea your right. Sorry mine was bad.

Zelda: It's alright. At least you're actually trying to help out instead of just leaving the whole project up to me like most groups I work with do lol.

Link: It's no problem, I'm happy to help! :)

Zelda: Maybe we could discuss it at lunch in the library tomorrow. And if you still can't speak we could talk via text.

Link: The library? I dunno... Theres a counsoler there that kinda scares me.

Zelda: Urbosa? Oh she's not so bad once you get to know her. If she wasn't she wouldn't exactly make a very good counsoler lol.

Link: I once dropped a text book in there and it made a loud noise and she shot this glare at me that nearly made me piss myself. 

Zelda: Hehe, well I suppose she can be quite intimidating if you don't know her like I do. Don't worry I'll make sure she's nice to you.

Link: Well if you say so... I'll meet you there tomorrow at lunch. And I can use sign language if you know it btw.

Link: Sorry I gtg now. My dad wants to take me to the shooting range tonight.

Zelda: Oh that sounds like fun! I wish my father would do things like that with me. (also yea I can understand sign language alright)

Link: Trust me, it get's real old when you have to go 4 times a week. 

Zelda: Why does he make you go so often?

Link: He want's me to get really good at shooting. He wants me to go into the military as soon as I graduate. It's kind if a family tradition to have the first born of each generation to go into the military. My family has been doing it for thousands of years. We descended from knights.

Zelda: Wow that's... 

Link: I know... But pops has been trying to prepare me my whole life for it so might as well go through with the family tradition I guess. 

Zelda: He can't force you into the military can he?

Link: Legally no, but what else would I do? My dad had been training me all my life for this...

Zelda: Doesn't your mother have any say in this?

Link: No. Sadly my mom left when I was 7. Haven't seen her since.

Zelda: Oh, I'm so sorry. I lost my mother when I was 6, so I know how hard it can be.

Link: It's okay, you didn't know. And sorry about your mom. It is tough and I do miss her a lot but I manage to get by. 

This felt so wrong to Zelda. Who would value a family tradition over their own child's safety? It made her feel sick and all of a sudden her own problems seemed insignificant. Link must have felt even more trapped than she did. 

Zelda: ... Are you scared?

Link took a while to reply.

Link: No... I'm not afraid to go into battle. It's what I've been trained for for years. Well, okay I am kinda scared of getting my hair shaved off I guess. I like my hair, it's soft and floofy! It's gonna be a real shame to lose it.

Zelda had a feeling that he was lying about not being at least a little bit scared of fighting. But she didn't say anything.

Link: Oh shit, now he's yelling at me to hurry up. ttyl bye.

Zelda: Bye...

Zelda sat back in her seat for a while, she didn't know what to think. Why would someone do that to their kid? Even her father wasn't that crazy. But there was nothing she could do. If Link said he was fine with it then all she could do was take his word for it. She still felt bad for him though.  
At school the next day the two met up at the library during lunch break. Link signed a little "hello" when he saw her and she greeted him back. When she saw his face she noticed a large discoloration on the right side of his jaw that was not there the day before.

"Woah, how did that happen?" Zelda asked.

"What do you mean?" Link signed.

"You got like a bruise or something here." Zelda said as she pointed to her the right side of her jaw to show where it was.

Link touched the spot where the bruise to see if it was really there and winced a bit when he put pressure on it. Zelda noticed that he looked nervous all of a sudden.

"Wow I had no idea that was there... I guess that explains the pain though." Link signed, "I must have gotten it when I tripped and fell this morning while walking up the school stairs. I hit my jaw on one of the steps."

"Ouch! That had to have hurt bad! Maybe you should go see the school nurse for that." Zelda suggested.

"Oh no I'm sure I'll be fine. I appreciate your concern though." Link signed.

"You sure you don't at least want an ice pack or something?" Zelda asked.

"No really I'm okay. It doesn't even hurt that much." Link signed again.

"Okay... If you say so." Zelda said.

Then they heard a familiar voice. "Hey Zelda. Wait... is that the kid who was dropping books in here last week?" 

Both teens looked up and saw Urbosa. Link seemed to shrink down in his seat and his ears drooped. 

"Oh I'm just messing with you kid. Sorry if I scared you there." Urbosa said to him playfully.

Zelda introduced her partner. "This is Link, he's my partner for a group project we have to do in science class. He's also the new student I mentioned yesterday."

"Nice to get aqquainted with you Link." Urbosa said with a friendly look. Then she took notice to the bruise on Link's jaw and she suddenly began to look worried. "Woah... Did someone punch you in the face?" 

A look of terror flashed across Link's face. "No." He quickly signed. 

"He told me he fell on the school stairs and hit his jaw on one of the steps." Zelda spoke for him.

Urbosa didn't seem fully convinced but she took his word for the moment anyways. "If you say so kid. Sorry it's just those sort of look like knuckle marks and I was worried there for a second."

Zelda looked back at Link's bruise and noticed that the discoloration was darker and round in some areas which really did make it look like someone punched him in the face. She didn't say anything though.

"It's okay. Maybe the stairs have fists or something." Link signed jokingly. 

Zelda suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable with the conversation so she tried to change the subject. "Well I think we should get to work now."

"Oh of course. I should get back to work myself. Sorry to bother you kids. See you two later." Urbosa said before she left.

Zelda turned to Link and asked, "So did you ask your father if you can come over to my house to work on the project?"

Link signed, "No sorry I didn't ask yet. My dad was in a really bad mood last night and this morning and I didn't want to bug him. But I'll see if I can ask him after school today."

"Alright then. Did you come with any ideas at least?" Zelda asked.

"Yea I did!" Link replied, "I was thinking maybe we could do one of those potato clock things." 

"Uh what now?" Zelda asked confused.

"You know, that thing where you use a potato to power a clock?" Link signed.

"Oh yea, I know what you're talking about now. Hm, isn't that a little but too simple though? I mean I guess the teacher would except it but I think she's expecting something a bit more our grade level don't you think?" Said Zelda.

Link's ears drooped down again. "Sorry. I guess it is kind of a childish idea."

Zelda responded, "Oh please don't feel bad. I just get super paranoid about my grades sometimes that's all. It was an okay idea but I want to make sure we get an A+ on this."

"You also got a helicopter parent?" Link asked.

"Ohhh yea, you have no idea." Zelda replied with a sigh.

"I know the feeling." Link singed.

"I can't even choose my own career! My father wants me to be a doctor or something." Zelda said sounding annoyed. 

Then Link asked, "What would you do if you could choose?" 

Zelda answered, "Well, personally I'd much prefer to be an archeologist. I love history and discovering new things about the past. And being a doctor really isn't something I'd want to do. It's not that I'm squeamish or anything, I just... I don't like seeing people die..." 

"Archeology sounds like a pretty cool career." Said Link.

Then Zelda asked him a question that he wasn't expecting, "What would you do Link?"

He paused for a moment. "I... I don't know... No one's ever asked me what I've wanted before... I always just assumed I'd be in the military and try get a high rank like my dad did. But I've never thought about what to do with my life past that. To be honest, I'm not even sure I'll live for that long..."

There was an solem silence. Zelda wanted to offer some words of comfort but she didn't know what she could say that wouldn't make things even more awkward. So instead she just tried to change the subject back to their project. 

"Soooo the project! I was thinking something that's not too simple but not too difficult either." She said.

"Oh yea, I guess we could maybe look something up on the internet. I would have done it last night but I got preoccupied with something and completely forgot. Sorry about that." Link signed.

"It's alright. I couldn't either because my father grounded me from the internet for getting a bad grade on a test." Said Zelda.

Link signed, "Oh yikes. Sorry to hear about that."

"Well thankfully I'm getting my internet privileges back tomorrow. So I'll be able to look things up again to help us with the project." Said Zelda.

"Well that's good." Link said with a soft smile.

Something about his smile made Zelda blush slightly. She bowed her head down a bit hoping that he wouldn't see. Link took out his phone and began looking up ideas for their project. He scooted closer next to Zelda so she could see the screen too. After a few minuets of scrolling through results something caught Zelda's eye.

"That one seems good, the one with the ice." She said.

The project title was "what makes ice melt fastest?".

"It doesn't seem to difficult but not too easy either. And I already have all the supplies for it at home so we don't have to buy anything." She said, "What do you think Link? Should we go with this one?"

Link just gave a little nod and a smile. And again it made Zelda blush slightly. There was just something about him smiling at her that made her feel weird. But it wasn't a bad feeling though oddly enough.

"So I guess that's our project then! Thank's for your help Link." She said.

Link looked down at the ground and scratched the back of his head bashfully. This time he was blushing. Zelda thought it was kind of cute. 

"Well, I'm going to try and do some homework now. You can go ahead and go to lunch now if you want. Hopefully your dad will let you come to my house after school tomorrow so we can get working on our project." She said.

Link nodded and waved goodbye. And Zelda said goodbye back before he walked away. 

"He's nice." She thought, "Maybe we really could be friends."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll probably have the next chapter out soon, perhaps in a day or two. So please stay tuned and thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for deciding to keep reading! And don't forget to let me know what ya'll think!

The next day there was a math test. Zelda was familiar with the subject but she had anxiety over it. So much so that she needed to compose her self in the bathroom for a while before class. This was something she always did before tests. If she didn't her anxiety could potentially overtake her and she wouldn't be able to think clearly. She had barely calmed herself down enough before the warning bell rang and she had to get to class. When she got to class she couldn't find Link and she worried if he was absent that day. The class started the test without him and Zelda's focused turned to the test only. But her focus was broken about half way through the test when she heard the classroom door open. She turned to see and saw Link walk in. She could tell immediately that something was wrong. He looked a bit disheveled, and cheeks didn't have their usual rosiness to them. Instead his skin looked pale, like something had spooked him. And he had a new bruise on his left cheek. It was fainter than the one on his jaw from the previous day but Zelda could notice it. Link sat down in his seat and buried his face into his arms that were rested on his desk. He didn't even ask for the test, he just sat there with his head down for the rest of class. Zelda was very worried, but she tried not to let it distract her from her test.  
After class Zelda caught up with Link in the hallway to see if he was alright.

"Hey are you okay? You seemed really upset in class today." She asked him concerned.

"I'm fine." He signed in reply, "I just a had a really bad night's sleep that's all."

Zelda looked at his new bruise. "But, your cheek. What happened there? Did you fall on the steps again or something?"

"There's another bruise?" Link signed with what almost looked like a small tint of fear in his eyes. "Well I did fall out of bed this morning. My alarm startled me and I think my face hit something on the ground. Like maybe a shoe I left there or something. Honestly I don't know, I was so tired this morning that I can barely even remember what happened." 

Zelda accepted his answer but something about it still didn't feel right to her. "Well I hope you feel better soon. I know well from experience how bothersome it is to have a bad night's sleep." Then she remembered the project. "Oh yea I almost forgot to ask you! Did you get your father's permission yet?"

Link nodded yes.

"Oh good! I don't live far from here so we could walk to my house together if you want." Zelda suggested.

"I don't like far either so I could walk home when we're done. Pops said I had to be home by 5:30." Link signed. 

"Okay then." Zelda said, "Well I'm going off to the library to get some homework done. See you in science class."

"Um, you don't mind if I tag along do you?" Link asked, "I really need to catch up on some work myself."

"Oh, sure. And if you want I could help you with anything you might be stuck on." Zelda replied.

Link gladly accepted the offer. "really? Wow thanks!" He signed.

The two teenagers made their way to the library and got started on their work. And as usually Urbosa stopped by to say hi. 

"Hey Zel. See you've brought noisy along with you again." She said teasingly.

"Oh hey, I'm just helping Link out with some of his homework." Zelda said.

Link looked up at Urbosa and gave a friendly wave. 

Urbosa seemed to immediately take notice to Link's appearance. "Hey you don't look so good kid. Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine." Link signed, "I just didn't get very good sleep last night."

"Okay..." Was all Urbosa said. 

Zelda could tell Urbosa didn't believe him, and frankly Zelda wasn't too sure herself.

"I wonder if..." Zelda began to think, "No... No that would be too awful. I certainly hope that's not what's going on..."

Her thoughts were broken by a loud grumbling sound. Both her and Urbosa looked at Link and his face turned bright red.

"Sounds like someone's hungry." Said Urbosa with a small chuckle.

"I forgot to have breakfast." Link signed, "And I forgot to pack myself a lunch." His stomach growled again.

"I got a few granola bars in my office. I know it's not much but anything is better than going hungry all day." Urbosa offered.

Link signed, "Wow, thank you. You're really nice!"

Urbosa smiled, "It's no problem kid. No wait right there, I'll be back with those granola bars in just a sec."

After she left Zelda looked at Link and smiled. "See, told you she's not so bad."

Link's ears drooped a bit, "Yea I really shouldn't have judged her so soon should I?" 

"Try not to feel too bad. A lot of people are intimidated by her at first. She's like 8ft tall and looks like body builder." Said Zelda.

Link signed, "I'm surprised she's not a boxing coach or something. She looks like she can bench press a goron!" 

"Actually gerudo people have a hereditary gene that makes them look like that. So even if they don't work out they'll still look very muscular. I learned that in bio last year." Zelda informed him.

"Wow, I didn't know that. That's really interesting." Link signed.

Then Zelda said, "You know, you can always talk to her if you're having a problem. She's really helped me a lot with my anxiety issues over the past few years." 

"I'll keep that in mind." Link signed.

Before they new it Urbosa was back. 

"Here I had 5 of them in my desk. Sorry one of them has raisins, you don't have to eat that one if you don't want to. Personally I've never liked raisins." She said as she placed the granola bars on the table.

"Thank's ma'm!" Link signed happily.

"You're not supposed to eat in here but I won't tell. Just try not to be messy." Urbosa told him.

"I won't be." Link signed.

"Alright I should get back to work. See you two kids later." Said Urbosa before she headed off back to her office.

Link unwrapped a granola bar and began happily munching on it as he and Zelda got back to their homework. Every so often Zelda would drop a little fun fact here and there, and Link would listen intently.  
When the bell rang the two walked to science class together. Zelda was still chatting away about neat history and science facts she learned and Link seemed to be interested in all of them. Zelda didn't usually have someone to talk about her interests to other than Urbosa, so it felt nice to have another person who enjoyed listening to her. After school they met up at the front of the building. 

"You ready to get going?." Zelda asked.

Link nodded and smiled, making Zelda a blush a little again. They started walking and didn't say anything to each other for a while. They just walked and enjoyed the scenery together. Zelda's neighborhood was very nice looking. Many people in it had gardens with many flowers and fruit trees. But then suddenly, Zelda stopped in her tracks. Her ears perked up in excitement and her eyes immediately focused on something on something on the inside of the sidewalk. 

"No way... It can't be..." She said shocked.

Link looked at her concerned and confused. Then Zelda quickly took out her phone and crouched to the ground at the spot she was eyeing at. Link crouched down next to her to see what she was getting so excited over. It was a beautiful white and blue flower that was growing right between the cracks of the sidewalk. It didn't look like a flower Link had ever seen, and he reached out a finger to poke on of it's pedals before Zelda pushed his hand away from it

"No don't touch it! That's a silent princess! It's one of the most endangered flower species there is!" She told him.

Link's face turned red with embarrassment. 

"I wish I could do something to protect it but I don't want to risk hurting it. Silent Princesses can only grow out in the wild so I guess the best we could do is check up on it every once in a while to see if it's doing okay." Zelda said as she took several pictures of the flower with her phone. "Hey wait, maybe this could be our science project instead! We could compare how different flower species survive in unfitting environments like this. Forget the ice thing! Stay right there, I'm going to run home really quick and get some masking tape so we can mark this area." 

Then in the blink of an eye Zelda ran off and left Link with the flower. She ran into her house and grabbed some tape. She was so excited that she didn't her her father and she ran right into him.

"What in the world are you doing Zelda? Be careful!" Her father said annoyed.

"I'm sorry! I just needed to grab something really quick." She said just before she made a rush for the door.

Her father stopped her just before she could step outside. "And where do you think you are going young lady?"

"Oh, er, My science project requires me to be outdoors for a while. Is... that alright with you?" Zelda asked hopefully.

Her father scratched his beard and thought for moment. "Alright, but only because your grade depends on it so much. But you better be home before 4."

"Yes! Thank you!" She said to him before darting out the door. By the time she got back to the flower she was out of breath from running so fast. And Link was no where to be seen. She looked around for him and called his name a few times. There was no answer.

"Now where did that boy go? I thought I told him to stay here!" Zelda said to herself in frustration. 

Then she could hear rapid footsteps in the distance getting closer. And before she new it Link popped up from behind her nearly giving the girl a heart attack. He had clearly been running too, seeing that he was also out of breath. He was holding a polaroid camera and he handed to Zelda. 

She took the camera and asked, "Did you bring this for the project? Wow thank you! Now we don't have to waste all that ink and paper printing out the photographs!" 

Link signed, "When you left I had remembered that I had it somewhere in my room so I ran off to go get it. Sorry not being here right away when you arrived." 

"That was fast. Do live really near by or something?" Zelda asked.

"Kinda. I live on the street next to your’s. But I also happen to be a really fast runner with a lot of stamina, so that's probably why I was able to make it there and back so quickly." Link signed. 

"Wow... I must say I'm impressed" Zelda complimented which made Link blush. 

Zelda put some tape on the sidewalk next to the silent princess and marked it with a sharpie and then took a few pictures of it with the polaroid. 

When she was finished she stood up and said, "Alright now we just need to find more flowers to keep track of for the project. So we may need to do some searching around here." 

Link signed, "There's some blue nightshade growing under the fence in my back yard. My dad tried to get rid of it but it keeps on growing back for some reason so he eventually just gave up."

Zelda exclaimed, "That's perfect Link! Now we just need to find one more specimen!" 

"We could probably find some dandelions around here somewhere. I always see those things growing through cracks and stuff." Link suggested.

"Yes that's a good idea! Thank you again Link!" Said Zelda.

They searched the neighborhood a bit and it didn't take them long to find some dandelions growing from under a rock. They placed a marker on it like they did with the silent princess.

"Well, I guess you'll have to mark and take photos of the blue nightshade yourself. I'll let you borrow my tape if you need it." Zelda said.

"Thank you. I'll make sure to get that done as soon as I get home." Link signed before he took the masking tape from her.

"Very good! I'll get started on some of the writing portion of it tonight. Thank you again for all you're help!" Said Zelda with a bright smile.

Apparently Zelda's smile had the same effect on him as his did on her, except with him it was a lot easier to see. He was blushing wildly. But Zelda figured it was just something he did a lot when he got thanks or praise for something.  
The next few following days were somewhat the same. Once in a while Link came to class late, they helped each other with homework at lunch while he was snacking on a granola bar, Urbosa stopped to chat for a while, then on the way back home after school they checked on the flowers. It didn't take long for the two to become friends. They enjoyed each other's company, Link especially. He always seemed a little bit sad to go home after they were done checking the flowers. Zelda was a bit concerned for her friend though. Every other day or so Link came to school looking very upset, or had some kind of bruise that he'd make and excuse for. It was getting harder and harder to believe his excuses. There was clearly something else going on with him. And Urbosa seemed to have her own suspicions as well. Especially after one day when Link came to school very late. He looked absolutely miserable. His hair was uncombed, he was wearing the same exact clothes that he was the day before, he looked like he didn't get any sleep, and most alarming of all, he had several bruises around his neck area. Seeing him filled Zelda with worry and anxiety. But she did not want to make him uncomfortable by bringing up the subject so she didn't say anything. They met up in the library at lunch again but didn't talk to each other. Link didn't even eat his granola bar, he just wasn't himself that day. Urbosa of course, took immediate notice to this when she stopped by. 

"Oh my gods..." Zelda could hear Urbosa say quietly under her breath in a very concerned sounding voice. She tapped Link gently on the shoulder, "Hey, Link, do you mind coming to my office for a moment. I want to speak to you about something..." Urbosa used the same soft and comforting voice that she used whenever Zelda came to her upset.

Zelda sat there in her seat feeling anxious as Urbosa took her friend to her office. Zelda knew exactly what she was going to ask him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for child abuse in this chapter. Read at your own risk, there's some really sad stuff.

"Is someone hurting you?"

The question made Link's heart skip a beat. He had a feeling this would happen eventually, Urbosa was on to him from the beginning. But he still refused to tell the truth, he was far too scared too.

"Please, be honest with me Link. I can help you, but you have to tell me the truth." Urbosa tried to tell him. 

Link only looked at the ground and shook his head.

"Link, please don't lie. Almost every time I see you there seems to be a new bruise on you. And today I'm especially worried. I know what strangle marks look like, and those bruises around your neck are no accident. Who did this to you?" She gently placed her hands on his shoulders, "I know you're scared sweetie, but you have to tell someone. Is it a family member that's hurting you? Is that why you're afraid to tell me?" 

Link shook his head again. Then he tried to force himself to speak hoping that it would make him sound more believable, "I'm f-fine..." His voice was only a barely audible whisper. "I'm... I'm okay... P-Please don't call anyone."

Then he left, praying to the gods that she wouldn't call anyone. The last time someone called child protection services on him his father convinced them that nothing was going on and he went without food for a week. He sat back down next to Zelda but didn't look at her. He stared at the table and fiddled with one of his earrings anxiously. 

"Are you okay?" He heard Zelda's voice ask.

He nodded yes. 

Zelda reached out and touched his hand. "You know, You can always talk to me if you need to get something off your chest." 

Link tried his best to hide how much he was blushing. His heart beat a little bit faster at the feeling of her touch and for a brief moment his anxiety went down slightly. He wouldn't dare tell her, but he really liked that girl. He had a crush on her since he first lay eyes on her, and then his feelings just kept on developing from there.  
He began fidgeting with his earring more aggressively. He wanted to tell her something but he didn't want to move his hand out from under her's. 

He tried to speak instead and surprisingly this time he didn't have to force it out. He finally felt close enough to Zelda that he could speak to her, or at least a little bit anyways. "If I tell you... You have to promise to keep it a secret." He was screaming at himself internally, "What are you doing you idiot?! Don't tell her! You're not supposed to tell anybody!"

Zelda looked surprised to finally hear his voice. It was soft and sweet sounding. "Yea... okay. I can keep a secret, I promise." 

Link gently squeezed Zelda's hand. There was no turning back now. 

"Sometimes..." He started. "When my dad is training me he... He can take it a little too far... And he tends to lose his temper. But it's not as bad as it looks, really, I'm used to it by now. I can take care of myself." 

There was a horrified look on Zelda's face. "Link... Are you saying that your father beats you?" 

Link looked down and squeezed her hand a little tighter. "Well I mean... Sometimes... But like I said it's not as bad as it looks."

Zelda looked at him intently, "You need to tell someone."

"I can't... He'll just get away with it again and I'll get punished really bad. It's a lot safer for me to just deal with it until I graduate and join the military, trust me." Said Link.

There was a long pause while Zelda though of what to say. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to you last night?"

Link tensed up at the memory. "I don't want to talk about it..."

He then went back to begin non-verbal for the rest of the day. Telling her those things took a lot of energy out of him. He didn't even really know why he decided to tell her in the first place.  
When they were done with the flowers after school Link almost hesitated to go back. There was no doubt that his father was still mad at him, and he wanted to stay with Zelda. She was the only thing that brought him actual genuine happiness anymore. But he knew that being late would only make things worse for him. 

"I'll... see you tomorrow Link." Zelda said with a tint of sadness in her voice.

Then she hugged him goodbye. The hug surprised him. The last time someone ever hugged him or had shown him any physical affection was before his mother left him. He held back a tear and hugged her back tightly. He didn't want to let go, but eventually he had to.  
On the way home he stopped by a public bathroom at a nearby park to change out of his binder, just like he did every day before he got home. His father was still unaware that he wore one when he was not at home, and Link intended to keep it that away especially after what happened the previous night. As he walked up the the front door he saw his father already waiting for him by the door and his heart filled with dread. 

"You know you're not off the hook yet young woman." The man said sternly.

Link tried to look emotionless. He knew very well that showing any fear or sadness in front of his father brought punishment. He however did take comfort in the thought that what ever his father had in store for him then wouldn't be as bad as the other night. His father was in a blind rage then, but now he seemed much more calm and collected. Still angry, but at least this time not to the point where Link's life was at risk again. He had only been that angry two other times. The first time when Link was 10 and he told someone he was being hurt and he was starved as a punishment, and the second time when he was 15 after a failed suicide attempt and he got beaten to a bloody pulp. But the third time was by far the worst. He was not only beaten badly, but was also nearly strangled to death. Most of the bruises were hidden under his clothing but the ones on his neck were in plain sight. 

"Gravel, outside. Now" His father demanded.

Link hated this one. There was a patch of gravel out in the back yard. It was used for punishment and pain endurance training. He had to stand on it using bare knees and elbows and it hurt like hell.  
Link went out to the back yard and pulled up his sleeves and pant legs exposing is bruised legs and arms. Then he assumed to position and tried not to wince at the pain.

"You're gonna stay out here for two hours and if I see you move a muscle, make a sound, or shed a single tear that's another half hour added. Do you understand?" His father said.

Link only nodded his head in reply. He tried to keep his mind off the pain. Usually he only had to do this for around 15-20 minutes at a time and he got fairly good at not showing any emotion, but 2 hours was a lot even for him. After about 30 minutes he could feel the tears start to prick his at his eyes. 

"No no no, think of something else, think of something else!" He thought to himself.

Then he noticed it. A blue light coming from the other side of the yard in front of him. It was the blue nightshade he and Zelda were using for their project. It's soft glow was comforting and Link used it to distract him. It made him think of Zelda. He thought back to the hug she gave him and how nice it felt to have someone hold him again after all those years. And it felt especially good to have Zelda of all people hold him, the girl he was crushing on hard. Then he thought of her bright glowing smile and how she always had something interesting to say. He loved listening to her talk and hearing the sweet sound of her voice. Spending time with her was the only time he didn't feel so lonely. She was always the highlight of his day. He wondered... what it would be like to kiss her. He knew it would never happen, but the thought of her lips pressed up against his made his heart beat rapidly. He could barely even feel the pain anymore, he was completely preoccupied in his thoughts of Zelda. 

He finally admitted it. "I'm in love with her. I'm in love with Zelda. I’m in love with everything about her." He thought silently. 

Then his thoughts were broken by his father's voice. "You're done, get up."

Link was surprised that he was done already. Getting lost in his own thoughts about Zelda must have really helped pass the time. He slowly stood up and some of the gravel rocks were still stuck to his raw bloody knees and elbows. 

"Take a shower, bandage yourself up, and then go to bed." His father demanded.

Link quickly obeyed. He was incredibly sore but at least it was over, for now anyways.  
He lay in bed that night unable to sleep. He was completely exhausted but his anxiety was just too high for him to able to rest. But then he heard the text tone on his phone. He picked it up to see who it was. It was Zelda.

Zelda: Hey

Link: Hey

Zelda: How are you doing? He didn't hurt you again did he? Sorry I've been really worried.

Link: No, not tonight. He was still a little mad at me but he didn't hit me or anything. He just sent me up to my room.

Zelda: You're telling the truth this time right?

Link: Yea, I'm good. You don't have to worry about me :)

Link: So how've you been doing?

Zelda: Me? Well to be honest I've been a bit nervous about tomorrow. 

Link: What's going on tomorrow?

Zelda: Don't you remember? Our project is due tomorrow. It's okay though I already finished the rest of the writing portion for you. 

Link: Oh shit I'm really sorry about that! I can't believe I forgot!

Zelda: It's fine. It wasn't that hard for me to do anyways. I'm just always anxious about my grades that's all.

Link: Hey don't worry we're gonna do fine. I think we did a good job, especially you!

Zelda: Thank you Link, you're really sweet.

Link blushed. She called him sweet!

Link: No really, you did good job! I'm sure we'll get an A!

Zelda: Well we couldn't have done it without you either friend!

Zelda: Oh, and don't worry about having to speak during the presentation, I'll do it myself.

Link: You sure you don't want me to do some of the presentation? I don't want you to get too anxious and uncomfortable.

Zelda: Oh no I could never ask you to do that. Would you even be able to speak?

Link: Oh yea... forgot about the whole selective mutism thing there for a sec lol. Well, sometimes if I try hard enough I can force myself to speak.

Zelda: Don't do that to yourself. I don't want you to stress over it okay?

Link: Okay. 

Zelda: Well I should get to bed now. Goodnight friend! 

Link: Goodnight. Can't wait to see you tomorrow.

Link internally slapped himself on the back of the head, "Why would you just say that to her?!"

Zelda: Can't wait to see you either Link! :)

Link's face turned bright red when he read her text. 

Zelda: Oh, one more thing! Please know that I'll always be praying for your safety. And if you you ever need to vent to someone I'm here okay?

Link: Thank you... You have no idea how much that means to me.

Zelda: It's the least I could do. 

Link: And hey if you ever feel upset you could vent to me! I wouldn't mind at all.

Zelda: Aw Link, you really are sweet. Goodnight friend!

Link: Night!

He put his phone down and buried his face into his pillow. He was blushing like crazy. 

"Oh my gods I love her, I love her so much!!!" His thoughts were screaming.

The next day Link and Zelda sat together in science anxiously awaiting their turn to present their project. Zelda seemed saddened by something.

"What's wrong?" Link whispered to her.

"Oh, it's no big deal. I just had to update the project a bit before I came to school." she said.

"Why?" Link asked.

"The silent princess... I checked on it this morning and it was dead... I was really hoping it would survive. I guess the conditions were just too harsh to thrive in." She replied with a sad look on her face.

"Oh jeez, that really sucks. I'm sorry. I was really hoping it would survive too." Link sympathized.

"Well it's health had been declining for the past few days, I should have expected it to happen. But for some reason though I guess I still had hope..."

The teacher called them up, "Zelda and uh..."

Zelda spoke for her partner, "Link. His name is Link."

"Wait I thought you were a girl?" The teacher said to Link confused.

Link's ears flattened back and his face turned red with embarrassment as the two walked up to the front of the class feeling mutually anxiety from everyone's eyes turning towards them.

Zelda was tense and shaky. "Um... So uh... our project is about uh..." 

Link could see she was freezing up, so he reached out behind her and gently rubbed the back of her shoulder. When he did that he could feel her untense a bit and let out a long breath. 

Zelda started. "Our project is about how different flower species survive growing in harsh and unfitting environments."

Zelda continued the presentation with ease. There was something about Link being there that seemed to calm her down. 

"That was very good!" Said the teacher at the end of their presentation. "Seems like something I can give an A+ to!"

Zelda's green eyes lit up and she turned to Link with an excited look on her face. He blushed and smiled at how cute she looked. 

When school ended that day they caught up with each other just before leaving.

"So uh, I know we don't have to work with each other anymore, but you don't mind me walking home with you still do you?" Link asked shyly.

"No not at all! Besides, I like hanging out with you Link!" Zelda replied with a smile. 

"R-Really? Thanks!" Link said happily.

The two walked home together chatting away with each other. Zelda of course did most of the talking, but Link didn't mind that at all. They eventually had to split up along the way so that they could make it to their own houses. Zelda gave Link another hug goodbye like she did the day before, and also like the day before he wished he didn't have to let go. He really did love that girl, even though he was too afraid to tell her. 

The next day unfortunately did not go as well. Their grades for the math test were passed out that day. When Link got his back he saw it was a D 

He thought to himself, "Hm, not a great grade but at least I passed. And it's higher than I thought I'd be too. I was expecting D- or something." 

Then he saw Zelda get her's back. When she read the paper her face turned grim. Suddenly she got up and left the class without asking the teacher. Worried, Link followed her. When he caught up with her outside he could see she was sobbing. 

"Woah, what's wrong?" He asked in a soft voice.

Zelda spoke between sobs, "I... I got a D+..." 

"Hey that's not the worst grade you could get. Sure it's not great but you already do so good in your classes that it shouldn't make too much of a change in your grade. And it's better than what I got!" Link tried to reassure her.

"No... You don't understand! He's going to be so angry with me when he finds out... He was furious the last time I got a B-, I can't even imagine how he'll react to this... He scares me so much when he yells at me..." Zelda said shakily.

"Oh... I'm really sorry..." Said Link softly.

"I thought... I thought I knew the subject..." She was barely audible through her sobbing now.

Link didn't know what to say. So he just gave her a hug. Once Zelda felt his arms around her she clung on to him and started sobbing into his shoulder. Link gently rocked her back and forth and petted the back of her head in an attempt to sooth her.

"Shhh... You're gonna be okay. Everything's gonna be okay." He whispered into her ear. "You want to talk to Urbosa? I can walk you to her office if you'd like." 

"Yes please..." Zelda mumbled into his shoulder.

Link walked her over to the library, trying his best to comfort her along the way. When they got there Urbosa was out in a flash.

"I got her from here Link, thank you for bringing her." She said.

Urbosa immediately took Zelda into her office, leaving Link in the library. He knew he should have gone back to class then but he stayed there waiting for her. She took a long time in there, not coming out until after lunch. 

"Do you feel a little bit better now?" Link asked her.

"A little bit... But I'm still scared..." She replied.

Link took her by the hand. "If you still need to talk to someone after school you always got me to text okay?"

"Thank you Link but... I'm pretty sure I'm going to get my phone and internet taken away for a while..." She said in a sad voice.

"Oh... I'm really sorry. Just know that I'll be thinking about you and wishing you the best okay?" Said Link.

"Okay..." Zelda replied.

The walk back home was quiet. When it was time for them to part ways Link asked, "You gonna tell him when you get home?"

"Yea... He'd only get even more angry if I kept it from him." Zelda replied, "He'd find out eventually either way. He's always checking my grades."

Link gave her a big hug. "You're gonna be okay. He can't stay mad at you forever."

"Link I... I don't want to go home..." Zelda said in a shaky voice.

Link hugged her tighter, he knew all too well what it felt like to be scared of going home. 

Zelda let go of him reluctantly and said, "Well, I'm going to have to face my fears eventually, no matter how much I don't want to. Thank you for everything Link, you're an amazing friend. Now you take care of yourself." Then she left.

That night when Link was in his room he could hear it, the yelling. It was faint and far away but it was loud enough to still hear it from where he was. He had a suspicion he knew where it was coming from although he was not entirely sure. But it still worried him anyways. A little while after he could no longer hear the yelling, he took out his phone and started texting Zelda.

Link: Hey you okay? 

He waited a while and there was no answer, so he texted again.

Link: Zelda are you alright?

He waited again and there was still no answer. So he tried one more time.

Link: I heard yelling. Was that from your house? I'm really worried about you, please tell me if your okay.

Still, no answer. The anxiety began to overwhelm him. He knew she wasn't alright and he desperately wanted to help her, but how? Then, he got an idea. A very risky one but an idea nonetheless. Link quickly slipped back into his binder before opening his window. He then proceeded to climb out of it, being as quiet as he possibly could as not to alert his father. As soon as his feet touched the ground outside he started running as fast as he could towards Zelda's house. 

When he arrived there he froze. "What the HELL am I doing!?" He said to himself. "I must be absolutely crazy! What am I doing!?" 

"Link?" He heard a familiar voice say from above.

He looked up and saw Zelda with her head out her window. He could see she had obviously been crying a lot.

"What are you doing here? You can't let my father see you!" She said.

Link didn't want to make noise yelling up to her so he signed instead, "I'm sorry. I was really worried about you."

"Oh... You heard didn't you..." Zelda said.

Link only nodded. 

"I'm sorry..." Said Zelda.

"You want me to comfort you?" Link signed.

"That would be nice but... I don't see how you'd get-" Before Zelda could finish her sentence Link was already climbing up the side of her house to reach her window. 

"L-Link! Be careful!" She said in surprise. 

Link made it up to her window with ease and climbed through. 

"Hey! I'm here." He said as he hugged her. 

"If my dad catches you we'll both be dead!" Zelda told him without breaking away from him.

"D-Do you want me to go then?" Link asked.

Zelda hugged him back tightly. "No... Not really... Thank you for coming."

Link smiled. "It's no problem."

Then Zelda broke the hug and said, "Wait, does your father know you're gone?

"Nope." Said Link.

"Oh my gosh! Then you really should get home!" Zelda said in alarm.

"It's okay. Some things are worth getting my ass beat for." Link said with a smile.

Zelda was blushing like mad, "Y-You get your butt back home right now mister! I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt because of me!"

"You sure?" Link asked.

"Yes I'm sure! You need to think about your own wellbeing too you know! Now go before your father realizes you're gone!" Zelda demanded.

"Alright... If you insist." Link said before he climbed back out the window. 

When he reached the ground Zelda called out to him one last time, "Hey, I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for... caring about me so much..." 

Link nodded at her with a smile and then ran off back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and please leave a comment if you want!


	4. Chapter 4

A month had passed and it was almost time for prom and it was all anyone at school would talk about anymore. It was mostly seniors who attended it but juniors could go too. Link had never been too interested in school dances before but Zelda mentioned to him that she wished she could go and all of a sudden he became interested. He was really nervous about asking her. He wasn't even really expecting her to say yes at all because of her strict curfew and he would no doubt get into a heap of trouble for going out as well. He would have had to ask her out as only a friend too, because he was still too scared to tell her how he really felt. And yet, the opportunity seemed too good to pass up, so he figured he might as well try. 

"Uhh... hey, you know how you said you wished you could go to prom?" Link asked nervously one day after school.

"Mhm, why do you ask?" Zelda said.

"Oh I was just wondering if er..." Link began fiddling with his earring again. "M-Maybe we could go together?"

The blush on Zelda's face was immediately visible to him.

"J-Just as a friend though!" Link quickly tried to save himself.

Zelda started twirling her hair with her finger. "Um... S-Sure..." 

Link's face lit up with excitement. "Oh my gosh, really? You sure you're dad will be okay with it?"

"Oh certainly not, but I can lie to him and say I have to tutor someone that night. I've done it before." Zelda said with a smile. But then her smile turned into a frown. "Wait, what about your father Link?"

"It's okay! I can sneak out and we'll be back before he even notices I'm gone!" Said Link.

He was partially lying. He would try to sneak out without his father noticing but he knew it wouldn't take long for him to realize that he was gone. Link didn't care though. To him, being with Zelda was worth the pain he would have to endure. 

"Okay, as long as you stay safe." Said Zelda.

Then Link remembered, "Sheesh it's tomorrow! I gotta go find out what to wear! Oh, and the tickets, how much were they again?"

"20 rupees per person." Zelda replied, "Don't worry I'll pay for my own." 

"Okay! Cool! We can buy the tickets tomorrow at school." Link said

"Hmmm... I need to find something to wear too." Zelda thought for a second, "Oh, I think I have an idea! But I can't let my father know. I'll have to get dressed somewhere else and meet you there."

"How about I meet you at the public park nearby? There's a bathroom there you could get dressed in." Link suggested.

"Yes that's a good idea! Good thinking Link!" Zelda praised.

Link blushed. "Aw, thanks." 

Zelda took a glance at her watch, "Oh shoot, I'm almost late! See you tomorrow Link!" 

Then she gave him a hug and ran off home. When Link got home himself he went to his room right away and began rummaging around his drawers for anything he could find that he could wear to prom night. It was really hard for him to find anything because all the formal clothes he had were dresses. Usually he didn't mind dressing feminine but he was afraid to do it at school. Plus Zelda didn't exactly "know about him" yet, and wearing a dress could be a dead giveaway. He found nothing, so he decided to look elsewhere. There were boxes in the garage where a bunch of things he and his father never used were shoved into. Link went into the garage and started looking through them hoping he could maybe find some of his father’s old clothes. He was almost the same size as him only about a half a foot shorter and not as muscular. After going through a few boxes of junk and stuff he didn't even remember they had, he found a dress shirt and some formal black pants and shoes. 

"I guess this will have to work. Seems kinda plain though..." Link thought.

Then he spotted something at the very bottom of the box he was searching in. He reached in and pulled it out, it was a black bowtie with white spots. 

"Wow, I haven't seen this in years..." Link thought.

The memories came rushing back to him. He was 6 years old and getting ready to go out to a fancy restaurant with his parents.

"Why'd you get her that? She's a girl." His father asked.

"She wanted to wear one. It's just a bowtie, I don't see why it's such a big deal." Said Link's mother as she fastened the bowtie around his neck. 

"It just looks odd that's all. It doesn't even match her dress!" His father responded.

"Oh stop making such a fuss over it. She likes it! And she picked it out herself, didn't you sweetie?" She looked down as Link lovingly.

"Yea! I like the dots!" He replied cheerfully. 

Link shed a small tear from the memory. Usually he tried not to think of his mother, because even a small memory of her could make him cry, and his father did not tolerate crying. Link had mixed feelings about his mother. He wanted to be mad at her for leaving him behind with his father but at the same time he missed her far too much and would do anything just for the chance to see her again, even if it were just for a brief moment.

"I wonder if it still fits me..." He thought as he examined the bowtie.

His thoughts were broken by his father's angry voice, "What the hell are you doing in here?"

Link quickly shoved the clothes he picked out under his hoodie. "N-Nothing! I was just looking for uh..." He quickly looked back into the box he was searching in and pulled out an old broken flashlight. "This! I was looking for this!"

His father just stared at him confused for a moment and he could feel himself began to sweat nervously. 

"Clean this mess up and get your ass inside." His father demanded.

"Yes sir." responded Link.

When his father left the garage he let out a huge sigh of relief. He put everything except for his prom outfit back in the boxes and put them back were they originally were in the garage. Then he rushed upstairs to his room and shoved the clothes under his bed before his father could suspect anything. 

Meanwhile on the other street Zelda was also frantically looking for something to wear in her attic. She knew what she needed and prayed to the goddesses that she would be able to find it. Her father had hidden away or thrown out most of her mother's things after she died out of grief. He was so saddened by her mother's death that he tried to get rid of anything she owned as an attempt to erase her from his memory. But some things of her's were too precious for even him to throw away, and those things he put in a box in the attic where he hadn't touched them for almost 10 years. But now Zelda was going to open that box. She searched through the attic climbing over old furniture and brushing away cobwebs. She looked into every box she could find, but none of them had what she was looking for. She was just about to give up hope until she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. There was what looked like something covered in an old sheet crammed way back into the corner of the attic. The sheet was black and hard to see in the dark, which is probably why she couldn't see it at first. She made her way to the object trying not to stumble over all the clutter that was in her path. When she got to it she removed the sheet to find one last box. Her heart filled with a mix of excitement and anxiety as she carefully opened the box. What she saw inside caused her breath to stop for a moment. There was a small stuffed white horse that her mother had made for her when she was an infant.

Zelda quietly spoke to herself, "Archimedes... I haven't seen you since..." 

She gently picked up the toy horse and stroked his soft fur. Tears began to well up in her eyes, she remembered how upset she had been when her father took him away from her. Archimedes was the last thing she had to remember her mother with and she tried to hide him from her father as long as she could before he discovered that she still had him. Zelda gently set Archimedes down beside her and looked back inside the box. She found a photo of her mother and father on their wedding day. 

"He looks so strange without that long beard of his." She thought as she let out a small chuckle between her tears. "I wonder what she saw in him."

Then she found another picture, this one being of her mother holding her on the day she was born, and then another of her mother when she was probably around her age. A few tear drops fell from Zelda's cheeks and landed on the photo she was looking at and she quickly brushed them  
off in worry that they might damage it. She set the photos down next to Archimedes and looked into the box again, this time finding exactly what she had been searching for the whole time. She pulled out a beautiful white gown. Then she recalled what her mother had told her when she was little.

"Zelda come here and look what I found!" Her mother said as she was cleaning out her closet. "It's my old prom dress! I haven't seen this in years!"

Zelda looked at the gown with fascination, "It's so pretty! Can I wear it?" She asked.

"Oh sweetie I think it's a bit too big for you." Her mother giggled. "But tell you what, when you're big enough you can wear it okay? Maybe even to your own prom!" 

Zelda held the gown close to her as she remembered that day. It was not long before her mother had fallen ill. Then she caught a whiff of a familiar smell. It was the scent of her mother's perfume coming from the dress. A scent that she had not smelled in years. She buried her face into the dress, remembering all those precious moments she had spent with her mother.

"I miss you..." She mumbled to herself as she wept.

She stayed up in the attic letting out her emotions for a good hour before leaving. She put the box back like it was but kept everything she found in it with her and hid it away in her room, including the gown that she planned to wear the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again thank you so much for reading! (sorry if this chapter was kinda short)
> 
> Please stay tuned for the next update!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gotta credit my friend Phillozophy (that's their FF.net name) for helping me out on a part of this chapater that I was really stuck on. There's one little section that they wrote for me so in a way this chapter was kind of a collab.
> 
> They also write LOZ fics and they're a really good writer so if you want you should check out their FF.net!

Prom was only a half an hour away and Zelda had told her father that she was hired to tutor someone that night, but of course she was lying. Before leaving she put her mother's gown and some makeup in her backpack so that her father wouldn't see that she had it when she left the house. She quickly made her way to the nearby park where she said she was meeting up with Link. He wasn't there yet when she arrived so she went ahead and got changed into her dress and put on a little bit of makeup in the bathroom. When she got out she spotted Link waiting on a bench.

"Link!" She called out as she hurried over to him.

When Link saw her in the dress he stumbled on his words, "Z-Zelda! You look... beau- I mean n-nice, you look nice!" 

A light blush appeared on Zelda's cheeks. "Thank you. You look nice too, that bowtie is really cute on you!"

Link scratched the back of his head bashfully. "Aw thanks! Oh and uhh... I got this for you!" 

Link handed her a pretty glowing blue flower.

"Hey is this the blue nightshade from you're back yard?" Zelda asked.

"Mhm, I didn't have the time or money to buy any flowers so I decided to make use of the ones growing at home. Hope you don't mind" Answered Link.

"It's beautiful Link, thank you!" Zelda said as she took in the flower's sweet scent. 

The two gazed at each other and forgot what they were doing for a moment. 

"So uh, you wanna get going?" Zelda asked trying to break out of her gaze.

"Y-Yea. Let's go..." Replied Link as he was trying to hide his blush.

They walked over to the school together to find the gym full of loud music, bright lights, and noisy rowdy teenagers. Zelda felt a bit overstimulated and uncomfortable with so many people crowded around her and she could see that Link was clearly very uncomfortable as well, so they just stood together awkwardly in the corner of the room. 

"Are you okay?" She asked him.

Link only lightly nodded his head.

"I can see you trembling, are you sure you're okay?" She asked him again. 

This time Link shook his head.

"You want to get out of here? I'm also feeling a bit uncomfortable." Said Zelda, "Besides, the only music they're playing is stuff I always hear on the radio every day. It's kind of boring to be honest."

Link nodded his head again and Zelda walked him outside. 

"I'm... s-ss..." Link was having trouble speaking.

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything. Just focus on breathing right now okay?" Said Zelda as she soothingly rubbed him on the back. "I know this sucks but it's okay, it still beats studying alone in my room all night."

Link still seemed sad and disappointed despite her efforts to cheer him up. They sat down on the school steps for a while trying to figure out something to do, and then they heard a familiar voice.

"Hey I wasn't expecting you to be here Zelda, and I see you brought noisy with you." 

Zelda's face lit up. "Urbosa! Boy am I glad to see you here!" 

"What are you kids doing sitting out here doing nothing?" Urbosa asked.

Zelda replied, "Well it turns out the dance was a bit much for us, if you know what I mean."

Urbosa nodded understandingly, "Ah I see. That really sucks, I'm sorry."

Zelda let out a sigh, "Yea, it really does."

"You know..." Urbosa started. "If you really are uncomfortable with the crowd here maybe we could go to a different location on campus. I got a radio and some songs on my phone I could play and you two can have your own mini-prom. And I could bring out some snacks for you guys too."

"Really? Are you allowed to let us do that?" Zelda asked.

"Probably not." Said Urbosa nonchalantly.

"Well we payed money for the tickets, might as well at least try to have some fun, what do you think Link?" Said Zelda.

Link shrugged. "I guess I'll do whatever you want to do." he signed.

"We could use the small courtyard at the back of the school." Said Urbosa.

"Okay, sure!" Said Zelda.

"Nice, meet you two kids there. I gotta go to my office to get all the stuff first." Said Urbosa.

Link and Zelda walked over to the courtyard and Urbosa was already there when they arrived putting out some cookies, punch, and some other snacks on a table for them.

"Don't tell anyone but I stole all these snacks from the actual prom." She said jokingly. 

Link waisted no time heading straight for the snack table and immediately began shoving cookies into his mouth. This made Zelda giggle a little bit.

"Hope you guys like 80's music, that's most of what I have here." Said Urbosa as the switched on her radio. The first song that started playing was "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Huston. 

"You gonna dance?" Zelda asked Link playfully.

Link turned around from the snack table to look at her with a face full of cookies and Zelda giggled a little at the sight.

Link swallowed the rest of his cookie and wiped the crumbs off his face. "Sure I guess! Care to join?"

"Oh I'm no I'm too embarrassed." Said Zelda shyly.

"Well if it makes you feel any better I'm probably a terrible dancer." Link said with a laugh. "Besides, it's just you and me, and Urbosa being our adult chaperone of course."

"I guess... I could maybe try a little bit." Zelda said, "But if I end up making myself look stupid I'll stop!"

"Of course we're going to look stupid." Said Link, "And there aint' no shame in that!" 

He took her hands into his. "Come on, I'll help you get started, don't be shy." 

He began swaying their arms to the beat of the music. Zelda felt a bit shy but she joined in anyways. Link smiled at her and her anxiety began to fade, so she smiled back and started to get more into it. 

"See now you're starting to get it!" Said Link. 

He kept encouraging her as her steps grow bolder, bolder, and soon, she was spinning and turning without so much as a word from Link.  
He was awestruck, just watching her, so peppy and bright and every movement making the room a thousand times lighter  
he tries to keep up but found that he couldn't concentrate while she was dancing. She didn't notice him backing away, the music is carrying her through step after step, until she heard his voice, singing along. She turned to look at him; he was still tapping his feet and shaking his body but he was mostly admiring her and she felt her cheeks flush before focusing back on keeping her feet from touching the ground.  
She looked like she was flying, and link took a moment to capture that image of her, laughing and giggling and floating.  
Together they carelessly danced the night away, completely forgetting all their fears and worries, until the music stopped.

"Sorry kids but it's almost time for everyone to go." Said Urbosa.

"Wait, already?" Asked Zelda.

"Yea, really sorry. I know you guys were having a lot of fun but we all have to go home eventually." Urbosa replied.

"Oh..." Said Zelda with a hint of sadness in her voice. 

Link looked a bit sad as well.

"But of course I'll let you two have one last song." Said Urbosa with a wink. 

"Yes! Thank you!" Said Zelda happily. 

Urbosa put on the last song which was "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner

The two began dancing slowly together to the music. 

"You know Link, you're not a bad singer. You're a very lovely soprano." Zelda complemented.

Link blushed. "Y-You really think so? Thank you..."

Zelda smiles softly. "I wouldn't mind hearing you sing again sometime."

"I could... do it now if you want." Said Link.

"Sure, go ahead." Zelda responded.

Link took a moment to prepare himself before he began to sing along. 

"In my life there's been heartache and pain  
I don't know if I can face it again  
Can't stop now, I've traveled so far  
To change this lonely life"

His voice was soft and sweet and hearing it made Zelda's heart beat a little faster. 

"I wanna know what love is  
I want you to show me  
I wanna feel what love is  
I know you can show me"

His voice was starting to get louder, more soulful. And hearing him made Zelda's heart beat even faster.  
Then he looked straight into her eyes and it felt like it was about to burst out of her chest.

"I-I have to go to the bathroom." She rushed off into the school building without saying another word.

Link stood there feeling confused. Then he turned to Urbosa and asked, "Was it something I did?"

"Don't worry about it, I'll go check on her." Urbosa sad with a reassuring smile.

She followed Zelda inside and found her leaned against a wall clutching the blue night shade that Link gave her to her chest. And her face and the tips of her ears were bright red.

"Is there something wrong?" Urbosa asked her.

"No... It's nothing, I'm fine." Replied Zelda.

"Oh, I see." Said Urbosa with a smile, "You like him!" 

Zelda tried to protest "W-What?! No! I don't..." She paused for a moment and looked at the flower she was clinging on to. "I like him... I really like him..."

"Oh sweetie it's okay." Urbosa said with a light chuckle. "Besides, I think you two would be really good together. You should tell him!"

"You really think... Wait, no. I can't. My father would kill me if I had a boyfriend." Said Zelda. "And besides, Link won't be staying around long enough anyways..."

"And why do you say that?" Asked Urbosa.

"He's going to join the military after he graduates..." Zelda replied sorrowfully.

Urbosa's smile suddenly turned into a frown. "Oh... I'm so sorry." 

Zelda held on to the flower a little bit tighter. "I don't want him to go. I think I... I think I might be in love with him..."

Urbosa brushed a strand of hair out of Zelda's eyes. "Oh sweetheart..." 

Zelda began to overthink and panic. "What if... What if he never makes it back? What if he gets killed out there? Urbosa I don't want to lose him! He's my best friend!" 

"Hey hey hey, shhhh..." Urbosa tried to calm her. "Do you know how serious he is about this? It seems really out of character for him. He's so sweet and gentile, I could never imagine him..."

"He doesn't have any choice." Said Zelda. 

"What? Why?" Urbosa asked.

Zelda replied, "His father is pressuring him into doing it and he's been training him for it all his life. Link said he didn't mind but I know he tends to to lie about his own well being a lot."

Then her muscles tensed when she had realized what she had just shared.

"You shouldn't have said that. Oh my gods you should not have said that." She thought silently.

"Whoa, that's really bad. There's not anything else going on with him at home is there?" Urbosa asked in alarm.

Zelda couldn't say anything. She was stuck. She knew Urbosa wanted to help and that telling her the truth may be the right thing, but at the same time she did not want to break her friend's trust or risk getting him badly hurt. So she only kept staring at the ground.

"Zelda why aren't you answering me?" 

She kept staring at the ground not saying a word.

"He made you promise not to say anything didn't he?" 

Her eyes began to water and her hands began to tremble.

"Sweetheart I know you don't want to break his trust but you need to tell me. I can help him."

Then she burst into tears.  
Urbosa held her close and tried to comfort her. "Hey, don't be scared. It's going to be okay. I'll call child protective services and they'll make sure he doesn't get hurt anymore."

"No, please don't! That will put him danger! Last time someone did that he-" Zelda cupped her hands over her mouth.

"Last time? You mean this has happened before and his abuser got away with it?" Zelda could hear a slight tint on anger in her voice.

"Please, I know it's your job. But he's going to get hurt." Zelda said choking back tears.

Urbosa brushed another strand of hair out of her eyes. "Zelda, you should get going home. I'll take care of it from here, and I'll also mention to them that this had happened before. Thank you for letting me know. Trust me, it's better for him this way."

Zelda didn't say anything more. She only walked back outside to the courtyard and grabbed her backpack and put the flower in it. 

"Hey what's wrong?" She could hear Link ask.

She didn't look at him or answer his question.

"We have to go now." Was all she said.

She went back into the building and Link followed. Neither of them saw Urbosa anywhere when they made there way out to the front of the school. 

"Zelda you really don't look so good, are you okay?" Link asked again.

Zelda stopped walking and tensed up. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Sorry about what?" Asked Link.

"I'm so sorry." Zelda said again. Then she began to sob.

"Hey." Link rushed over to her and wrapped his arms around his crying friend. "What's wrong?"

Zelda broke away from him. "I told her. I told her. I'm so sorry!" 

"Hey hey hey, it's okay, just explain." Link tried to remain calm in the situation. 

Zelda choked back on her tears, "I'm so sorry, I broke my promise... I told Urbosa..."

Link's eyes lit up with fear. "W-Why would you..."

"I don't know! She asked me and I just started crying because I didn't know what to say and I just gave it away!" Zelda sat down on one of the school steps and covered her face with her hands. 

Link only stood there silently, not knowing what to feel. He wasn't okay with what she did but at the same time he couldn't bring himself to be angry with her. They did nothing for a few minutes. Everything was dead silent apart from the soft sounds of Zelda's crying. 

"What made her ask you?" Link said, breaking the long silence.

"I told her about the military thing when she asked why I couldn't..." Zelda cut herself off.

"Asked why you couldn't what?" Link asked.

Zelda paused for a moment before building up the courage to answer. "I told her that i'm in-"

Suddenly the two were interrupted by a loud booming voice.

"ZELDA BOSPHORAMUS HYRULE!"

Zelda jolted up from where she was sitting and and an expression of sheer terror crossed her face as a large intimidating man approached them.

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY I WON'T DO IT AGAIN IT WAS JUST THIS ONCE I WON'T DO IT AGAIN! I'M SORRY I'M SORRY!" Zelda shouted out in panic.

Zelda's father grabbed her firmly by the arm. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you are in young lady?! Do you have any idea what time it is?! I thought someone had taken you or worse!" His voice was getting louder and Link could feel a surge of anger began to rise in him.  
Zelda's father saw what she was wearing. "Where... did you find that?" 

Zelda turned her head away in shame.

"ANSWER ME GIRL!" He shouted.

Link stepped in between the two and looked Zelda's father dead in the eyes. "LEAVE HER ALONE!" 

He stared down the much larger man like a wolf ready to attack. Zelda could see her father shift back a bit, it almost looked as if he was actually intimidated by Link. Zelda had never seen this side of him before.  
She placed a hand on his shoulder and he turned to look at her.

"Link, don't." She said.

He reluctantly backed down and Zelda's father dragged her to his car. She looked at Link with a sad expression on her face one last time before they drove off.  
Link stood there outside the front of the school all alone. He had never been so angry with himself before. He had gotten his best friend in serious trouble. He figured if he hadn't asked her to go with him in the first place this never would have happened. He wanted to do something, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to cool down by taking a walk. He didn't know where he was going, he just wandered around feeling angry at himself. He was out there for a few hours, knowing very well how much trouble he was going to be in at home. But he didn't care anymore. He felt like he deserved whatever punishment was waiting for him for getting Zelda into trouble. Eventually he made his way back home, but not before stopping by the public park bathroom to change out of his binder like he usually did. When he arrived at the front of his house he saw his father sitting outside waiting for him.  
Link fearfully walked closer to him. 

"Where were you?" His father asked in a voice that sounded a little too calm. It was never a good thing when his father sounded calm when he was in trouble.

Link knew that there was no way he could lie his way out of this one, so he decided that he might as well just tell the truth. "I was at prom with a friend from school. I knew you wouldn't let me go if I asked you so I uh... I snuck out." 

"Oh is that all? Because you were out for a pretty long time there girl." His father spoke with a bit of sarcasm in his voice. 

"I also took a walk for a few hours." Link added.

"You sure? Because a few hours ago I got a little phone call from child protective services. You care to explain that?" Now Link could begin to hear the anger rising in his father's voice.

Link made one attempt to try and save himself. "I didn't tell anyone. Maybe someone got suspicious." 

"Bullshit!" His father shouted. "I thought you'd be smart enough to not do it a second time but I guess I was wrong!"

"I'm so-" Link felt his father give him a hard slap in the face.

"You apologizing won't fix anything! Now tomorrow when they come here you are going to explain that everything was a misunderstanding and never speak of it again. Do you understand me?" Said his father.

Link nodded, "Yes sir." 

"Now get inside, and don't even think about hiding up in your room. I'm not even close to done with you tonight!" His father yelled.

Link obeyed and went inside the house, every step he took increasing his anxiety. He knew he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.


	6. Chapter 6

It was 4AM. Link's entire body felt sore from the beating he took that night. It was over though, for now anyways. He could feel a trail of blood trickle down his chin. He'd have to find a good way to explain that to the social worker the next day. And for the visible bruises, he could use makeup.  
He couldn't sleep. He felt to much anxiety and was in too much pain. But it was not himself that he was mainly concerned about. He was still worried about Zelda.  
He felt tempted to text her to see how she was doing, but it was so late and he was afraid she might have been angry with him for getting her into so much trouble with her father. He had the messenger app open on his phone as he stared at the screen, debating wether he should text her to ask if she was alright. He eventually decided that it would be best to give her space. But just after he turned off his phone's screen it lit up again. And by pure coincidence, it was her.

Zelda: Hey. You still up?

Link: Yea. You okay? I'm so sorry about what I did. 

Zelda: Sorry for what?

Link: If I hadn't asked you out to prom with me you wouldn't have gotten in trouble...

Zelda: It's okay, it's not your fault. And I really enjoyed hanging out with you. Besides, I kind of deserved to get in trouble after what I did to you. It's okay if you're still mad at me for that btw.

Link: I'm not mad at you. I can deal with what's coming to me. But what about you? You still haven't told me if you're okay. I've been really worried.

Zelda: Well if I'm going to tell you the truth then, no. My father, he was so angry at me over my mother's dress. He burned it...

Link: That's... that's awful. I'm so sorry, he shouldn't have done that!

Zelda: I'm so tired of this. He's so controlling! I feel like I'm trapped! I wish I could choose my own path, but no, I have to do what HE wants! I hate it here, I hate my life. I'm just a disappointment to him, I'm not even sure if he sees me as his daughter anymore! I don't think I can take this anymore.

Link tensed, he could relate to everything she was going through. And it made him angry. Link's life was miserable. He never outwardly expressed it, but hated nearly every second of it. The mere thought of Zelda having to go through anything even close to what he had to live with made his heart wrench. He had to do something, anything. She shouldn't have to live like this, she was too good, to perfect, she didn't deserve it. He had to do something, anything. He couldn't just let this keep happening to her. She meant the world to him, and seeing her like this caused him more pain than any beating he took from his father.  
Zelda sent another text.

Zelda: Sometimes I just wish I could just run away you know? But I don't know where I'd go. 

Link: I'd run away with you. 

Zelda: You'd really do that?

Link: Yes, if you wanted me to. Honestly I would have done it myself a long time ago if I could, I hate it here too. But I've always been scared of being alone. My dad may hurt me but he was all I had, without him I'd have no one. But ever since I met you I haven't been as lonely as I used to be. So if you decided to run away I go with you in a heartbeat if you wished it of me.

Zelda: Wait, you're really serious? You'd actually run away from home with me?

Link: Yes. I mean it with all my heart.

Zelda: Okay...Let's do it. Let's run away. 

Zelda: When do you think we should do it.

Link: Now. Let's do it now. 

Zelda: Right now? As in tonight?

Link: Yea. I don't want to be here for a second longer. 

Zelda: I can't leave right now though, my father locked me inside my room and I can't get out.

Link: I'll come get you. I could help you escape through your window. 

Zelda: Okay, it's settled then. We'll leave tonight. 

Link: Alright. I'll be there as fast as I can. I just need to pack up some extra clothes and food.

Zelda: Okay, I'll start packing too. See you here.

Zelda: Thank you...

Link: It's no problem. I'm always here for you Zelda. :)

Link put down his phone and too a moment to compose himself.

"I'm actually going to do it..." He thought, "Holy shit I'm actually going to do it..."

He stayed laying down for a while spacing out. But then he snapped out of it when he remembered that Zelda was depending on him at that moment to come get her.  
He got up and changed into something that didn't have blood on it and was more suitable for running in. Then he packed a few more clothes and shoved some snacks he had hidden away under his bed into his backpack.  
He opened his window and carefully climbed out, trying his best not to make too much noise that could alert his father.  
As soon as his feet touched the ground he ran as fast as his legs could take him. Moving so much hurt from how sore his body was but the pain was the last thing on Link's mind at that moment. He just wanted to get to Zelda as fast as he could.  
When he got to her house she had already opened her window for him but her light was still off, most likely so that it would lower the chance of her father noticing that she was up.  
Link quietly climbed up to her window and poked his head in to see if Zelda was there. He saw her sitting on her bed waiting with her backpack on already ready to go. Link noticed that some of her makeup from earlier that night was still on but it was smudged and there were dark tear stains running down her cheeks. She had been crying. 

She stood up from her bed. "Link! You really did come." She said quietly.

Link climbed the rest of the way in and rushed over to her. 

"Are you okay?" Link asked.

Zelda took one look at him and a horrified expression crossed her face.

"L-Link! You're bleeding!" Zelda exclaimed.

"I know, but I'm fine! I'm okay, you don't have to worry about me." Link tried to calm her down.

"You are not fine!" Zelda argued, "Have you seen yourself? Look in the mirror!" 

Link turned to look in the mirror above her dresser. He was so badly bruised that he could barely recognize himself, but what was most alarming to him was that his right eye had been hit so badly that it's once white sclera was now colored blood red.  
He tried to hide how scared he was for his eye. He didn't want Zelda to panic over him.

"It's probably not as bad as it looks." He said.

"He did this to you didn't he? I’ll kill him! I'll kill that bastard!" She shouted angrily.

Link was taken back by her sudden burst of anger. 

He tried to soothe her again, "Hey hey, it's okay. I'm never going back there again."

"You need medical attention." Said Zelda sounding very worried.

"We can't worry about that right now, we need to get out of here before your dad notices." Link told her.

Link took her by the hand and helped her climb out the window with him. He climbed out before her and went down slowly in order to try and keep her from falling.

"How do you do this so easily?" She asked.

Link answered, "I've been climbing things since I can remember. I've gotten really good at it over the years. I've always had a lot of excess energy and climbing helps with that a lot. It's also really good anxiety reliev- WOAH!"

Link saw Zelda's foot slip and she came falling down. Link let go of his grip on the wall and extended his arms out to catch her. He was successful in catching her but he ended up falling as well. He softened Zelda's fall with his own body when they hit the ground but the impact knocked the wind out of him.  
Zelda rolled off of him and he slowly sat himself up, trying to hide how much the blow hurt his already sore body.

"You okay Zelda?" He asked.

"I'm fine but what about you?" She answered after she rolled off him. "I'm really sorry if I hurt you!"

"I'm okay. I can take way worse than a little fall." Link answered. 

Then they saw one of the house's lights switch on and heard the voice of Zelda's father yelling from the house. "Who's out there?!"

"Shit! We were heard!" Said Link, "We need to get out of here now!"

Link took his friend by the hand and they ran as fast as they could. They ran and ran, having no idea where they were going. All they knew is that they needed to get as far away as possible.


	7. Chapter 7

It was morning, and Zelda was exhausted from running. Neither she or Link had gotten any sleep all night. Although curiously enough, Link still seemed to be good on energy. 

"Link, I need to stop." Zelda said out of breath.

"I still don't think we're far enough yet but I guess we could use a break. I don't want you to over exert yourself." Link said. "We should still lay low though."

"Maybe we can hide in those bushes over there." Zelda said pointing to some shrubs near an overpass.

"I guess that will do." Said Link.

The two walked over to the shrubs and sat down next to each other. They said nothing for a few minutes, just thinking to themselves. 

Then Zelda broke the silence and said, "Maybe I should go back..."

Link said nothing and just kept staring straight ahead with a blank expression on his face.

Zelda continued, "I have no idea what to do out here and my father is probably worried sick about me. He's no doubt called the police by now and the longer I stay out here the worse he'll worry..."

Link stayed silent for a while longer before he responded keeping the same blank expression on his face, "You can go back if you want, I can't keep you here with me against your will after all." Link paused for another moment before continuing. "I can never go back though..."

Zelda looked at the ground and didn't say anything.

Link spoke again, "I used to see him as a hero ya know, my dad. There was a point in my life where I felt like he actually loved me. Or at least he was pretending to love me. I remember I wanted to be just like him too..." Link's head bowed down." But ever since my mom left he just... He became more and more obsessed with training me to become a soldier like he was. And he seemed to be so much angrier too. It just kept on getting worse and worse and the older I got he tried training me harder and harder. He tried isolating me from everyone else, tried to take away the things that made who I am, I couldn't even show emotion without being punished for it. He tried to make me into something I'm not, him. And yet... For all those years I still held on to the hope that my old dad was still in there somewhere. The one who loved me and didn't hurt me. Yea there were a few other times that I tried to escape but he always made me feel guilty for it. I kept blaming myself for the situation I was in. Maybe if I wasn't so hyper and hard to control as a little kid then perhaps my mom wouldn't have left me behind, or maybe if I just worked harder to impress my dad he wouldn't have beaten me so much. Or maybe he blamed me for mom leaving I don't know... I just always felt it was my fault somehow. And I kept on giving him second chances over and over again, hoping that he would give me some kind of sign that he still really cared about me and didn’t see me as just a weapon or an extension of himself. I was so desperate to be loved again that I took even the smallest of compliments from his as signs of affection and it just increased my false hope that the old him was still there. But... let's just say after a few recent events, I've given up on giving him second chances. And for good this time. I'm not going to let him catch me again, or let him scare and guilt trip me into staying. Yea I know it's stupid and I have no idea what to do or where to go but I'm free now and that's all that matters. He can't... He can't hurt me now... Not as long as he doesn't catch me..." 

Zelda looked up at her friend and saw this his eyes were beginning to water but he was clearly trying to hold back his tears. She placed her hand on his and gave it a gentle squeeze. 

Link added on, "Besides, It's not this is the stupidest thing I've ever done. When I was 15 I tried to... Well I did something really reckless and got the crap beaten out me for it, that's all..." 

Zelda saw so much pain in his expression made worse by how battered his face was. As much as he was trying to hide it, She could tell he wanted to cry and she wished he would. She knew that he must have been holding it in for so long and he desperately needed to let it out.

"It's okay to cry you know." Said Zelda.

"I'm... I'm not used to crying in front of people. My dad would always hit me if I did that." 

"He's not here and he can't hurt you. It's okay to cry in front of me. I could even hold you if you'd like." Zelda said softly.

She wrapped her arms around her best friend. "It's okay, you can cry now. No one will hurt you."

Link sat completely still for a moment before Zelda could start to see a few tears silently streaming down his cheeks. She hugged him tighter and more tears came out. Then before she knew it Link was tightly clinging on to her and sobbing with his face buried in her neck. She could hear his soft whimpering and the sounds of him crying made her start to tear up as well.  
She rested her head on his shoulder and soothingly rubbed his back. They stayed like that for a good hour, neither of them saying anything. But they didn't need to.  
when Link finally pulled away his eyes were puffy and his cheeks were soaked with tears. But Zelda didn't see the same pain in his expression as she did before.

"You okay?" She asked, wiping away her own tears.

"Yea. I'm okay." Said Link.

"Are you telling the truth this time?" Zelda asked.

Link smiled softly and said, "You know, I think for the first time, I actually am." 

Zelda smiled back at him. 

Then Link's expression looked pained again as he remembered something. "You still gonna go back?" He asked.

Zelda paused for a moment before answering. She didn't want to leave Link all alone. And if she did go back her life would continue being the same, except even worse now that Link wouldn't be there, and she was going to lose Urbosa too when the school year ended. Going back wouldn't fix any of her problems. But staying with Link, well, she didn't know what would happen but she figured it would be better than whatever was waiting for her back at home. Although, she did still feel guilty, but she didn't let the feeling control her better judgement this time. She had been restricted controlled since she was a young girl, she figured it was about time she got to take control of her own life for once.

"I changed my mind." She answered, "I'm not going back. I'll stay with you." 

Link's pointy ears perked up up. "You can stick around with me as long as you want!" 

Zelda smiled again. "You know, I'm still really tired from last night. Maybe we could take a nap?"

"Yea, me too honestly. I think I'll hit the hay for a while." Link said with a yawn. 

He then lay on the ground and curled up in a ball. He was out almost instantly. Zelda was not quite expecting him to want to sleep right there on the dirt ground but she didn't want to wake him so she just rolled with it. She lay down next to him using her backpack as a pillow. Then she shut her eyes and was soon fast asleep.  
A few hours later she opened her eyes to find Link now snuggled up against her still sound asleep. Zelda could feel herself blushing.  
She gently nudged her friend awake and his turquoise blue eyes slowly opened to look at her. He blushed once he realized how close they were and carefully sat up. 

"I think we should get going now." Said Zelda trying to hide her own blush. 

Link nodded his head in agreement and tried to stand up. But he was having trouble. The adrenaline from all the excitement from the previous night had finally worn off and he could now feel full pain of his injuries.

"Do you need help?" Zelda asked him.

"No, I'm fine." Link replied.

He slowly stood up, wincing at the pain. Zelda could see he was still struggling and helped him up anyways. 

"You really gotta work on not undermining your own problems so much." She told him.

"I don't like annoying people by complaining about my problems. Besides, I can take a lot. My problems are usually nothing I can't handle myself." Link responded.

"Complaining? You were beaten to a pulp last night! Your well being is just as important as anyone else's!" Said Zelda.

Link looked down at the ground silently for a moment. "I'm sorry... I guess I'm still not used to not hiding my pain. My dads' been treating me like that for 10 years, it's gonna take a while for me to readjust." 

"Yea, I understand. And I'm sorry for scolding you like that." Said Zelda.

"It's okay, you don't need to apologize." Link said. "I think we should get going now though, before it gets too late."

"Oh uh, yea." responded Zelda.

The two teenagers made their way through the over pass and continued walking down the sidewalk.

"Where should we be going?" Asked Zelda.

"I was uh... Hoping you knew that." Link replied as he was munching on a granola bar. "But honestly anywhere is fine as long as we get far far away from this area. The local police are no doubt looking for us by now. If we make it out of the city there's a better chance of us not getting caught."

"Well I guess that's at least sort of a plan." Said Zelda.

The two kept on the move for the rest of the day and were still moving after dark, Link always nibbling on a granola bar. 

"Hey, I'm getting hungry. May I please have one of those?" Zelda asked.

"Sure." Said Link. He looked into his backpack and his eyes widened. "I uh... Turns out I didn't pack enough. Oops..."

"You can't be serious, you ate ALL of them? Why would you do that?!" Said Zelda.

"Sorry, I was hungry." Said Link with his head drooped down in shame.

"Well I guess I'll just have whatever else you brought then." Said Zelda.

"Uhhh.... that's um. That's all I had." Link said scratching the back of his head.

"That's all you had?! We haven't even been gone for two days and you already at all the food! Unbelievable!" Zelda said angrily. 

"Didn't you bring anything?" Asked Link.

"No! I didn't! I was locked in my room the night we left so I couldn't get to the kitchen to grab anything! That was all the food we had and you already ate it in less than a day!" She shouted again.

Link's ears drooped as he kept his head lowered. "I'm... I'm sorry..."

"You idiot! What were you thinking?!" She shouted louder this time.

Link kept looking down, his voice sounding more meek now. "I'm s-sorry..."

"How could you be so irresponsible! Hey, LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M SPEAKING TO YOU DAMMIT!" Her hand flew over her mouth in horror at what she just said. She didn't recognize her voice as her own, it sounded exactly like her father's.

Link was still staring at the ground, this time not saying anything.

"Link I'm sorry! I didn't mean to- I shouldn't have said that!" She tried to apologize.

Link stayed silent.

"We can find a way to get more food tomorrow okay? You don't have to worry about it. It's fine." She tried to reassure him.

He still said nothing.

Zelda's thoughts were screaming at her, "You're a horrible person, You're such a horrible person, you hurt him, you don't deserve him, you never deserved him." 

Tears were beginning to fill her eyes. "Link, I'm so sorry I-" She reached her hand out to him as if she was reaching out to an injured animal. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean any of that. I'll never yell at you like that again I promise!"

Link finally looked up at her, his eyes meeting her's. But he still remained silent. She couldn't really tell what emotion his expression held. Perhaps he was just hiding it again.  
Then, suddenly, the both flinched as a bright light was flashed right in their faces.

"Hey, what are you kids doing out here? It's past curfew!" It was a cop.

Both of them nearly jumped out of their skin.

The cop saw Link's battered face. "Woah, the hell happened to you kid?"

"He got in a fight yesterday." Zelda lied for him.

The cop leered at her. "Hey, I think I've seen you're face before. Does you're name happen to be Zelda Hyrule?"

Zelda froze out of fear. Her heart was pounding a million miles per hour. As her mind was racing to come up with a good lie, she suddenly felt Link grab her by the hand and before she knew it they were both running as fast as they could.

"Hey! Stop!" The cop shouted as he took off after them. 

Link was naturally fast enough to out run him but he kept having to slow down because Zelda couldn't keep up with him. They ducked into some bushes and made their way to a gas station shop. They seemed to have lost the cop but they were still cautious. They both hid behind one of the candy aisles watching for the cop through the windows intently.

Then they heard a very familiar voice. "Hey you punks you're blocking the isle!"

Zelda looked up to see the person speaking. "Urbosa!" 

"Zelda? Link? The hell are you two doing out here in the middle of the night?" Urbosa asked.

"We need you to hide us!" Said Zelda.

"Why? Is someone after you?" Asked Urbosa. 

"I'll explain later. Please, we need to hide now!" Said Zelda.

"Okay, let's all sneak out to my trailer." Said Urbosa.

"Wait, you own a trailer?" Asked Zelda.

"Yea I just recently sold my house for it for when I finally get out of this place and hit the road again." Urbosa explained. "But enough about my life story, let's get you kids hidden!" 

Urbosa went out to her trailer that was parked by that gas pump first to check if the coast was clear. Then she signaled for Zelda to come and she cautiously snuck over. And then she signaled for Link and he sprinted towards the van as fast as he possibly could, almost crashing right into it. 

"Woah, take it easy there kid." Urbosa said to him as she slid open the door to her trailer. Then she finally noticed his injuires and a horrified expression crossed her face. "Holy shit Link what happened to you?" 

He said nothing and climbed inside the vehicle followed by Zelda. Urbosa hopped in after them and slid the door closed behind her. It was a pretty big van, seemed like it could fit more than just them three.  
Urbosa waisted no time heading towards her cabinet and pulling out a first aid kit. She pulled out a tube of healing gel, disinfectant, and bandages and came over to Link. 

"Hold still, Let me take care of those cuts for you." She instructed.

Link complied and held still as she tended to his wounds. 

"You have a subconjunctival hemorrhage in your right eye. Don't worry, it looks and sounds way worse than it really is, it should clear up on it's own in around one to two weeks." Urbosa said, her voice sounding sadder than it usually did. "Why the hell would anyone do something like this to their kid. I swear if I ever got my hands on that bastard..." 

Link was still nonverbal but he tried to sign. "He found out about you calling social services."

"Goddamnit" Urbosa said through gritted teeth. "Link I'm so sorry. You have every right to be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you." He signed. "You were just doing your job." 

She brushed his hair out of his eyes. "You poor kid... You're so sweet. You don't deserve what you go through, you never did." 

Link looked down and began to fiddle with his earring.

"I'm assuming you have... Other injuries as well don't you?" Urbosa said.

Link nodded slowly. 

"Where?" She asked.

"Mostly on my back." Link signed.

Urbosa spoke to Zelda, "Hey Zelly, can you turn around for a moment?"

Zelda nodded and turned around.

"Okay sweetie I'm going to need you to take off you're shirt for a while." Urbosa told Link.

Link rapidly shook his head.

Urbosa whispered into his ear softly so Zelda couldn't overhear, "I know you wear a binder. It's okay. I'm not going to judge you at all for it."

Link signed, "How did you know? I never told you!"

She whispered to him again, "I looked up your student profile. It still has you listed as female. I'm really sorry about that." 

"It's okay." He signed. "Just don't tell Zelda. I'm not ready to let her know yet." 

Urbosa nodded and gave a soft reassuring smile. "I promise I won't tell a soul. Now, I really should take a look at your injuries."

Zelda didn't hear any of the whispering, but she could hear Urbosa's voice get shaky as she was clearly trying not to burst into tears after Link had reviled all the bruises that she couldn't see before. Zelda didn't want to know what Urbosa saw, seeing how badly battered only his face was had upset her enough.

"Okay, I think we're done here. You can look now Zelly." Said Urbosa as she was wiping away the tears that had welled up in her eyes.

Zelda got up and sat next to Link. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"A little bit better." He signed.

Urbosa spoke, "Okay, now. Tell me why I found you two at a gas station on the other side of town in the middle of the night?" 

Zelda answered for both of them. "We both had a really bad incident with our parents after we left prom and we um... we decided we couldn't take any more and we ran way together."

Urbosa rubbed her temples. "Okay uh, wow. Damn. I can't say I blame either of you but, I'm sorry, legally I have to turn you guys in. I don't want to but you have to understand that all three of us could get in to a lot of trouble in this situation."

Link finally spoke up a little. "I c- I can't go back... Don't make me go back please don't make me go back... And I can't go to a foster home either. I'll be all alone..." His voice was hoarse and shaky.

Zelda pleaded with him. "Please, don't do this! You could just drop us off outside the city and the police won't even know!"

Urbosa got up and started walked over to the front of the vehicle with her back facing away from them. She seemed deep in thought, trying to come up with the best solution to this tricky situation.  
Link and Zelda sat together silently as she thought. After a few minuets Zelda spoke to Link.

"I'm sorry for calling you an idiot." She told him.

"It's okay. I really am an idiot for eating all the food." He said.

"No, I overreacted and I hurt you. And I feel really bad about it. I should have never yelled at you like that. It's... It's how my dad yells at me..." Said Zelda.

"It's... It's fine. I'm fine. I forgive you." Said Link.

Zelda leaned her head on his shoulder. "I love you." 

Link's heart skipped a beat. Did she really just say what he thought she said?

"As a... As a friend of course." Zelda added. "You're my best friend and I love you for that."

Link's heart sank and his ears drooped down a little.

"Something wrong?" Zelda asked.

"I'm okay. Just sore I guess." He replied. "I love you too Zelda..."

They sat in silence once again. 

Then after a few more minutes they heard Urbosa mutter under her breath, "I can't believe I'm doing this." She turned the key in the ignition and pushed the gas pedal. "There's no way in hell I'm letting anyone hurt you kids anymore."

Zelda's eyes lit up. "So you're dropping us off outside of the city?"

"Of course not!" Said Urbosa. "Why would I just let two defenseless kids run off on their own like that? You guys are sticking with me!"


	8. Chapter 8

"So let me get this straight Officer Dorian, you found both runaway kids and you somehow managed to let them out run you and get away?" 

Dorian shuffled uncomfortably in front of his superior. "Y-Yes Chief Kohga. But we at least know that they are together which should make finding both of them easier." 

Kohga rubbed his temples in frustration."You have a patrol vehicle! Why didn't you just use that!?" 

Dorian explained, "I thought that might frighten the children too much, sir. They already seemed scared and overwhelming them even further could have caused them to want to get away from me even more." 

Kogah let out an annoyed sigh. "You can't be serious Dorian. You can not be serious! I can't even begin to explain how stupid you are! You didn't go after them in the car because you were worried about their feelings!? Who cares if they get scared! It's the least those little punks deserve for running away in the first place! You don't get payed to worry about people's feelings Dorian! If you see those kids again you are to do whatever you can to catch them. Even if that means scaring the shit out of them! Hell, that's probably the best way to do it! They're teenagers, they aren't gonna listen to you if you try to reason with them. So yea, do that. Drive the car after them, threaten to arrest them, point the gun at them. I don't care what you do just make sure they don't get away again!"

"P-Point the gun at them?! But sir" Dorian said shocked.

Kohga let out another sigh. "I didn't say you had to shoot the little turds, just scare them. And that was ONE example I gave you. I'm not saying it's the only way! Quit being such a softie sheesh!"

"Yes Chief Kohga." Said Dorian.

Kohga added one last thing, "Oh and uh before you go, you're gonna be the one to tell that girl's dad that she was found but got away. And that lady from CPS too, you gotta tell her about that other girl you let get away." 

Dorian looked down at the ground in dismay. "Yes chief Kohga."

Kohga responded, "Hey, if you didn't screw up last night you wouldn't have to but you did sooo, yea. Get goin'." 

Dorian left the chief's office and returned to his desk. He reluctantly picked up his phone and dialed the number of the father of one of the missing teenagers.

The voice that picked up sounded anxious and panicked. "Is this about my daughter? Have you found her?" 

Dorian answered and asked, "Hello this is Roham Hyrule correct?" 

The voice replied, "Yes yes, now just tell me if you found her already!"

Dorian explained, "Your daughter, Zelda. She was spotted last night but she ran away and we um... we couldn't catch her. I'm sorry sir." 

Roham shouted from the other side, "What?! You let her get away?!" 

Dorian tried to calm the panicked parent. "Unfortunately yes. But luckily we do have some new information that may help us find her. She was with someone else. Another teenager who was reported to have run away on the same night she did. We now believe that the two may have made a pact to run away together. They go to the same school as you're daughter too, which supports our theory."

Roham now sounded even more panicked. "A pact?! Who is this other child? Zelda has never even mentioned them! It's not a boy is it?" 

Dorian tried to explain, "That um... We're not actually sure of the other youth's gender? Our file on them says the individual is female but when we checked their social media activity earlier today they seem to refer to themselves as male. The other officers have just been referring to the youth as a "she" but personally I think doing so may be disrespectful in the case that they really do with to be seen a m-"

Roham cut him off. "I don't care about all that, who is this person?!"

Dorian replied, "Oh yes, well their legal name is Laykin Kearny but according to the information we could gather from their social media activity they seem to mainly go by the name "Link", which is probably the name your daughter knows them as. 17 years old, hylian, about 5"3. Light complexion, blonde, blue eyes. You sure you've never seen this kid before or heard you daughter mention them?" 

"No, I've never heard of this person! I didn't even know Zelda knew anyone like that!" Said Roham. 

"That's odd. Is Zelda known to keep secrets from you?" Asked Dorian.

"Maybe? I have no idea! She doesn't tell me many things about her personal life but she's never been one to get into trouble. And I certainly would have never expected her to make a runaway pact!" Replied Roham. 

Dorian pondered for a moment. "May I ask Mr. Hyrule, and forgive me if I'm getting too personal, but this information would be useful, did you and your daughter by any chance get in any sort of argument or fight that made her upset before she ran away?"

There was a pause for a while on Roham's side before he answered. "I scolded her for sneaking out and we got into an argument. I won't get into all the details but she didn't take it very well..." 

"Does this happen often between you two?" Questioned Dorian.

There was another pause from Roham, this one being a but longer. "Sometimes... Yes. But I think she's just sensitive. Although I will admit that I may have overreacted when I scolded her for sneaking out that night." 

Dorian asked, "Do you think that may have had something to with her-"

"No." Roham cut him off abruptly. "She's always fine the next day. And she would have been this time if it weren't for that damn friend of her's talking her into running away!" 

Dorian stopped him before he got too heated. "Alright Mr. Hyrule let's not get to carried away here. Now I'm sorry but we're going to have to end our conversation. I have someone else to call about the other missing teenager."

He could hear the distress in Roham's voice. "Please just... Just find her! Please find my little girl! I've been so worried about her!"

Dorian tried to offer words of comfort. "Roham, I can't imagine what it feels like for you. I know how hard being a single parent. I have two little girls of my own and I don't know what I'd do if I lost either one of them. So I promise you Mr. Hyrule, that we will get your daughter back home safely. You have my word."

"Thank you..." Said Roham.

Then Dorian hung up. He rested his head on his desk and let out long sigh as he took a moment for himself to mentally prepare himself for the next phone call. When felt he was ready he picked up the phone again and dialed the number of the CPS worker.

"Hello? This is Impa from Child Protective Services correct?" Asked Dorian. 

"Yes it is. I'm assuming you're calling about the runaway teen. Have you found her or at least some information on her whereabouts?" Said Impa.

"Well you see, we- I mean I did spot the missing youth but they ran off with another teenager who has been reported to have run away. We believe they may have made a pact." Dorian explained. 

"A pact!? With who?" Asked Impa.

Dorian replied, "She's a 16 year old hylian girl, almost 17. So about the same age as Laykin. Her name is Zelda Hyrule, her father reported that she ran away on the same night that Laykin did. And they also go to the same school together." 

"Well at least that might make it easier to find her." Said Impa. "You get any info from her social media activity? Any indication of where she may have gone?"

Dorian answered, "Most of it was... memees, maymays, mems? I forget what they're called but there's those weird jokes on the internet that kids these days always send to each other. The rest was just pictures of food and baby animal videos. There doesn't even seem to be any mention of them planning to run away." 

"Really? Nothing at all?" Impa said with a sigh.

Dorian said, "Well we did find one unexpected thing however I'm not too sure if the information will be of much use to you. On every one of Laykin's social media bios they put down that they were male. They also seem to only go by the name Link, not Laykin. Again not sure if this information is very useful but it's all we really found."

"Oh...." Said Impa. "Well the only reasons I could think of for doing that is either Laykin... or Link was trying to hide their identity on the internet, or the more likely reason, this kid is transgender. Which wouldn't really surprise me. The lady who called us kept on referring to them as a "he" and they seem to present themselves as more androgynous than feminine in all the recent photos of them I've seen.."

"May I ask, what is transgender?" Said Dorian.

Impa explained, "It's when someone doesn't identify as the gender they were assigned to at birth. In this kid's case I’m guessing he was assigned female at birth but identifies as a boy. I've had transgender kids one or two times before. It's... not uncommon for them to be abused. It's really sad to see how little tolerance people still have these days." 

"Oh, well I guess this information may have been useful after all. Perhaps the next time La- I mean Link is spotted, using his preferred name and pronouns could help coax him to come with us." Said Dorian.

"I don't know, you don't know if he's out publicly yet. He may react negatively to finding out that his social media accounts were hacked into and that a bunch of people know now that he's transgender. And we're not even 100% sure that he is anyways." Said Impa.

"Oh well, You've got a good point there." Said Dorian.

"By the way, when you saw the kid, she or... he I guess. Did he happen to look hurt or injured in any way?" Impa asked.

Dorian answered, "Yes as a matter of fact. He looked like he got beat up or something. And it looked pretty bad. The girl who was with him told me he got into a fight but she also told me that both of them were 18 so I think it's safe to say that she was most likely lying. The kid looked pretty scared too. Like he'd been through hell."

"Oh no... Poor thing must be scared to death out there." Said Impa. "I'd need solid evidence to make any legal claims but I'm sure his father most likely did that to him. It could be part of the reason he ran away too. That guy has been reported to CPS before by the kid himself years ago, but nobody could find any dirt on him so they let him get away with it. This time though he seems to have been much more careless about hiding it lately. The lady who reported him said that Link often came to school with visible bruises. His father seems really angry with him for leaving too. So much so that he doesn't even seem to want his own child back. It's like he's disowned the poor kid. But as I'm sure you know we can't really do anything until we find Link and get more evidence."

"Gosh that's... That's horrible." Said Dorian. "Poor kid. You don't suppose we could get any information out of the father though?"

"We tried that already. He doesn't know where his child went and says he doesn't care anymore either apparently. He's honestly just been really apathetic about the whole thing, as if he's just given up or something. It's pretty odd but at the very least he seems to be cooperative. The only possible useful information we got out of him was that if we get can ahold of the child's mother she might be able to get him to come back. He hasn't been answering any of our phone calls. Which is smart on his part, he must know he could get tracked down if he does that. But his father said that Link has a soft spot for his mother. So if we could get her to contact him the chance of hearing a response from him or possibly him even wanting to come back will be higher."

"Have you contacted the mother yet?" Dorian asked.

"Not yet, we're still trying to find her. But I'll make sure to let you know when we do. And that's all the info I can give you at the moment unfortunately." Impa replied. 

"Alright ma'm, understood." Said Dorian.

"By the way, what's your name officer?" Impa asked him.

"It's Dorian." He replied.

"Thank you Dorian." Said Impa. 

"It's no problem ma'm. It's my job to help." Said Dorian before he ended the conversation and hung up.

Dorian added the new information to the case file and then got up to go to the break room. He needed to rest for at least few minutes after the stressful day he was having.  
He made got himself a cup of coffee and looked in the fridge for a snack. All he found were bunches of bananas.

"Ugh, why doesn't anyone here ever bring donuts?" Dorian said to himself. 

He grabbed a few bananas and headed back to his desk. But just before he sat down in his chair he heard an all to familiar ear-piercing squealing noise. followed by Kohga yelling, "WATCH OUT HE'S LOOSE!"  
The squealing continued as Dorian could see several of his coworkers hop up on to their desks as furniture, computers, and anything else that wasn't nailed to the ground was getting knocked over or aggressively shoved. Dorian barely had any time to react before the large squealing beast rammed itself right into him, making him spill his coffee and drop all of his bananas. The beast stopped squealing at the sight of the bananas that were now on the floor, and the proceeded to aggressively consume them, making a mess in the process.

"Damn hog! Why can't we just have dogs like a normal police station?!" Dorian said as he got up off the ground. 

"Ah, good work there Officer Dorian!" Kohga said as he walked over munching on a banana. 

Dorian rolled his eyes. "Why is that thing running loose in the office again?" 

"I was getting ready to take him out for a walk and he broke his leash. Yanked on it so hard that it just snapped." Explained Kohga.

"Again?!" Said Dorian. 

"Yep, I've lost count how many leashes he's broken. Now I just keep a stash of spare ones in my office." Kohga said with a chuckle. He leaned in towards the animal and cooed at it. "You're such a big strong boy! Aren't you Ganny?"

He stuck out his hand to pet it but it snarled aggressively at him and snapped. Kohga pulled his hand away just in time to avoid getting bit. 

"You know that pig is going to bite your hand off one of these days." Dorian scoffed.

"Hey, Ganons' not a pig, he's a boar." Said Kohga.

"You do realize a that a boar is just a male pig that hasn't been neutered right? Which by the way, is something that Ganon should be, seeing how aggressive he is." Said Dorian.

"You know I can't cut off Ganny's balls! He needs them! I'm trying to breed him!" Kohga argued.

Dorian groaned. "Oh no, this again? Don't you remember what happened last time?" 

Kohga leaned in towards Dorian a little too close for comfort and lowered his voice. "Shhhh you idiot! That's supposed to be a secret between us! If word gets out about that animal control will be up our asses in no time! Besides, this time I'll make sure to separate Ganon from the piglets BEFORE he eats them."

"Why do you even want to breed him anyways?" Asked Dorian as he moved away from him.

Kohga answered, "Ganon may be a pain in the ass but he's the best tracking animal this police stations' ever had. That big snout of his can sniff out a dangerous criminal from miles away days after they've left an area. Now if we could just get him to make little piggies, without eating them of course, they might inherit that trait and possibly even be less difficult to handle."

"Well I guess that's not an entirely awful idea, but how do you know that the offspring won't turn out just aggressive?"

Another co-worker suddenly butted in to the conversation. "Hey guys what's goin' on? Hey I heard Dorien's comment on how boars are just male pigs that haven't been neutered. Now while that isn't entirely incorrect, the term "boar" is also used to describe a wild pig of either sex."

Ganon looked up at the officer and gave off a sinister snarl.

"Ugh, nobody was talking to you Terri." Dorian groaned. 

"Yea fuck off Terri." Kohga added.

"Alrighty then! See ya folks around!" The fellow officer said as he chipperly walked back to his desk. 

"I hate that guy..." Kohga muttered under his breath. 

He looked down at Ganon who had finished eating the bananas and was sniffing around for more. Kohga took out a spare leash and tried to clip it on him but he snapped at him again.  
He put the leash away and pulled out another banana instead. 

"Here boy!" He said waving the fruit in front of the hog's snout as he willingly followed. Then Kohga turned to Dorian briefly before heading out of the office. "Oh by the way Dorian, theres a stack of missing posters of those kids by the printer, go make yourself useful and post those around the neighborhood today."

"Yes sir, I'll get right to it." Said Dorian. He was happy to get out of the office. 

He grabbed the stack of posters and got to work. He put the first one up near the police station and looked at it for a moment. The pictures of the teens were clearly their school pictures taken for their year book. Neither of them looked very happy in their pictures. They both had a glimpse of sadness in their eyes. 

Dorian sighed. "Poor kids must be scared to death out there. I sure hope they're alright."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will admit that I have very little  
> knowladge of how police stuff works so yes I did wing most of this lmao rip. But whatever I'm just writing this for fun anyways.


	9. Chapter 9

It was early morning, Urbosa's eyes were glued to the road and wide awake despite the fact she was up all night. She didn't really know what she was doing, but what she did know was that she needed to keep those kids safe. They couldn't go back home but they couldn't just wander off on their own either. Someone needed to look out for them.  
Zelda was asleep in the back but Link was still wide awake. He didn't speak a word, just sat silently in the trailer thinking to himself. Every so often his phone would go off but he would never answer it, which was the smart thing to do because it was most likely Child Protective Services calling and if he replied to any phone calls or texts he could be tracked down.  
After a few hours of him just sitting there in silence Urbosa began to hear his breathing change. It was getting heavier and more strained.

Worried, Urbosa asked, "You okay back there kid?" 

"I'm fine." Link replied softly. "Just some chest pains that's all."

"Chest pains?" Said Urbosa sounding alarmed. "Why are you having chest pains?" 

"It's nothing really I just..." Link paused, obviously trying to come up with some kind of excuse.

"Link, how long have you been wearing that binder?" Urbosa asked.

Link took a moment to answer before muttering, "Since I ran away the night before yesterday. Well, except for last night where I took it off so you could check my bruises, but that was only for a few minutes."

"I'll admit I don't know too much about binders because I've never needed one myself, but something tells me you're no supposed to wear them for that long. Aren't they really tight?" Urbosa asked.

"I uh... Yea." Link admitted. "It's not recommended that someone wear them for more than 8 to 12 hours. Usually I only wear mine during school. I'm not really used to wearing it for more than 6 or 7 hours a day." 

"Hon, I think that's probably why you're having chest pains then. You should really give your body a break and take it off for a few hours." Urbosa suggested.

Link paused for another moment before speaking again. "I dunno..." 

"I mean, it's up to you." Said Urbosa. "But I really don't want you to hurt yourself by keeping your binder on for so long." 

"I would take it of it's just that..." Link's voice got quieter. "I don't want her to find out, at least not yet." 

"You know, I really don't think Zelda would mind. She's a very open minded person and she definitely wouldn't freak out over someone being transgender." Said Urbosa.

"I still don't know man..." 

"If you don't mind me asking," Said Urbosa. "What's scaring you?" 

Link went silent again.

"Sorry, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to." She said to him after a few moments of his silence.

Link was silent for a few more moments before finally replying. "I... I kinda like her. A lot..."

Urbosa smiled. "Oh sweetie."

"I'm afraid that if I tell her if she finds out she'll... see me differently I guess..."

"What do you mean?" Asked Urbosa.

"I um... I don't know anyone who finds people like me... Attractive... People have had crushes on me before, and I've liked a few of them back. But every time they'd find out what I really am, they'd immediately stop talking to me or worse, start to treat me like I'm some kind of freak. "

Urbosa's heart sank. "Damn, that's really shitty. I'm sorry."

"The only time that didn't happen was..." Link let out a sigh and his voice got even quieter. "This one guy I dated for a little while in freshman year. Well, maybe dated isn't the right word. More like got involved with. He was one of my dad's old war buddies. Way too old for me, should have never gotten involved with him. But I was so lonely and hungry for any kind of love or acceptance I just... I wasn't thinking right. I thought he was just nicer than most people but turns out he only liked me because he had some kind of fetish for transgender people. I don't think he even really saw me as a boy to be honest, just as a girl who liked to pretend to be one. It was a really bad relationship to say the least, and the only one I've been in." Urbosa could hear his voice getting shaky now. "Everyone I've tried to be in a relationship with either found me repulsive after I told them or just saw me as a sex object. I'm so sick of being treated like this, I just want to be seen as a normal person but instead so far people have just made me feel like I'm unloveable because of the way I am." Link's voice cracked as he was trying to fight back his tears. "When my dad found out he... he nearly strangled me to death. I was so scared, I thought he was going to abandon me, just like my mom did." Link finally broke down into tears. "She'd... She'd hate me too. I know she would, she'd hate what I am. Just... Just like ev-" He stopped speaking. The only sounds that were coming out of him now were soft sobs and heavy breathing. 

Urbosa could clearly tell that he was overthinking and making himself panic more and more by doing it. She stopped driving and pull the van over to the side of the road. She got up out of her seat and went over to where Link was, who was sitting with his legs tucked up to his chest and his arms folded on top of them with his face buried in them.  
Urbosa knelt down in front of him.

"Hey." She to him said softly. "Look up at me."

Link's face slowly turned up to look at her's. His cheeks were tear stained and his eyes were puffy from crying.  
Urbosa gently cupped his cheeks into her hands and looked at him straight in the eye.

"You are a lot of things Link, but if there's one thing you're not it's unloveable." She told him. "I know it must be hard growing up trans. And I know people are shit. You're father is shit. You deserve so much better. You are honestly one of the sweetest kids I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. There's nothing about you that's unloveable."

Link sniffled and looked down.  
Urbosa gently stroked his ears, just like she would sometimes do with Zelda to help calm her down.

She tried to lift his spirits up a bit. "If it makes you feel any better, One of my professors back in college who was married to a transgender woman. They were really happy together too. It's not impossible for you to find someone who loves and respects you just the way you are."

Link looked back up at her, still sniffling but his face looking a little less distraught. 

"And, although I can't read Zelda's mind so I can't tell you exactly how she would react, I highly doubt she'd treat you poorly. You're her best friend and you mean a lot to her. And you never know, maybe, if you ever feel ready, you could tell her how you really feel and she may just like you back." Urbosa was fighting back the urge to tell him what Zelda had told her. That she already felt the same way for him. But Urbosa knew that it would be so much better if Link could hear Zelda tell him herself. 

Link wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeve. He was still nonverbal but seemed to be feeling at least a little bit better now.  
But then suddenly he let out grunt of pain and grasped on to the side of his ribcage.

"I still really think you should take that off for a while. It must be hurting a lot by now." Said Urbosa. "Don't worry though, I think I have an idea that could help keep your chest mostly hidden. And you did remember to pack a bra when you left your house right?"

Link nodded. 

"Oh good, I don't think you'd be too comfortable without one." Urbosa said. "Wait there a sec while I go get something."

Urbosa went over to a dresser she had in the trailer and rummaged around for a bit until she found what she needed. She pulled out green hoodie.

"Here, it's mine but I rarely ever wear it." She said as she handed it over to him. "It fits me just fine but it would be really baggy on you and might be able to hide your chest enough so that Zelda wont notice it." 

"Th-Thank you." Link said ever so softly. 

"Alright kid you might wanna get dressed before Zelda wakes up." Urbosa said as she ruffled up his hair. "I'll stop by a gas station so you can use the bathroom. I need to pick up some stuff from the convince store anyways" 

"Okay." Said Link. 

Urbosa got back on the road and drove until she found a gas station and parked in front of the convenience store. 

"You want me to get anything while I'm inside?" She asked Link as the stepped out of the vehicle.

"Maybe a few bags of chips? I'm fine with any kind." Link responded.

"Sure thing kid." She said before they headed into the store.

Link went into the bathroom to change out of his binder and Urbosa browsed the isles for snacks. She grabbed a lot of chip bags because she knew Link had quite the appetite on him. She also grabbed some things for herself and things she thought Zelda might like, as well as some candy too.  
After she was done she waited in line. There seemed to be a commotion going on at the counter and it was holding up the line. 

"What is going on up there?" Spoke an irritated customer.

"Some asshole is arguing with the cashier." Another one replied. 

She could overhear the argument. And she could have sworn she recognized the voice of the customer who was arguing with the cashier.

"It's only 3 rupees short!" Said the customer.

"Then pony up the 3 rupees and there won't be a problem." Replied the cashier, clearly not having any of it.

The customer kept on arguing. "Look, I have been wandering around town with a broken wing and nothing to eat for a week. I've been sleeping on the GROUND for a week. I'm tired, I'm hungry, just let me buy the damn corn chips!" 

"Sure I will! For 4 rupees." Responded the unamused cashier.

"Ugh! I never! Do you have any idea who I am? I graduated top of my class at-" And he just kept going on and on about his accomplishments none of which the cashier could care less about.

Urbosa definitely recognized that voice. The condescending tone, the obnoxious superiority complex, the unnecessary bragging about his accomplishments. 

"No... it can't be." Thought Urbosa.

Then she could hear loud bird-like squawking as she saw store security dragging out a very upset looking male rito with dark blue feathers. 

The cashier smiled and waved goodbye. "come again!" 

"Well I'll be dammed. Revali. He hasn't changed a bit has he?"

Link came out of the bathroom and walked up next to her. He looked up at her with a confused expression on his face. He must have heard the commotion from the bathroom. 

"Hey you mind waiting in line and paying for these?" Urbosa asked him. "I gotta go check something outside. Here I'll give you the money." 

"Oh, okay. Sure I don't mind." He said.

Urbosa gave Link the snacks and the money to pay for them before heading outside to look for Revali. She found him out in the back sitting on the ground looking disheveled and feeling sorry for himself. 

"Well, well, well if it isn't Birdbrains." She called out to him.

Revali looked up at her in astonishment. "Ur-Urbosa?! What are you doing here?!" 

"Just stopping buy to pick some snacks for the road." She replied. "So, what the hell was that back there?"

"Gee, nice to see you too." Said Revali in a sarcastic tone. 

"Aaaand what was all that talk about you wandering around town for the past week? And why are you doing just sitting on the ground back here?" Urbosa asked.

"That is none of your business!" Revali chided.

Urbosa pressed on. "Are you in trouble or something? Do you need help?" 

"How dare you imply that! I'll have you know that I am PERFECTLY capable of taking care of myself! And I do not, never have, and will never need your help!" Revali said as he snobbily stuck his beak up and went "Hmph!" 

"Okay then." Urbosa said nonchalantly.

She turned away and started heading back towards the trailer until she heard Revali run up to her and call out, "Hey wait!" 

She turned around to see him. "Hm?"

"You're just going to walk away like that?" He bleated out.

"What? You said you didn't need my help." Urbosa responded slyly.

Then she turned away and headed back towards the trailer again. 

"Wait..." She heard him say again, softer this time.

She turned around to see him again. He was looking at the ground in shame.

He sighed, "I... I got mugged... They took everything I had on me. Including my money. All I have is one rupee that I found on the ground. And whoever did it broke my wing so I can't fly home either." He held out his left wing which was bandaged up in a sling.

"Did you tell the police about this?"

"Yes, but they told me they can't give me a ride home just because I live in the way in the Tabantha region!" Revali said in a complaining manner.

"Sheesh, that is pretty far." Said Urbosa. "You couldn't ask them to call someone for you?"

"There's er... no one to call. I don't exactly have many friends where I live. Not that I need any that is!" Said Revali. "Well there is my nephew Teba but he's only a young chic. I don't think he even knows what a phone is yet!"

"And? How does that concern me? You said you didn't beed help." Urbosa said with a smirk on her face.

Revali just kept gazing down at the ground in shame.

"Alright you want a ride or not Birdbrains?" Urbosa finally offered.

"Perhaps..." Revali muttered under his breath. 

"Then stop feeling sorry for yourself and get in the trailer." Urbosa demanded.

She headed back to the trailer once again, now with Revali dragging his feet behind her. 

She stopped him before they went in. "Hold on a sec I got some other people hitching a ride here, let me tell them that I'm adding you to the party." She poked her head inside of the vehicle. Link was already inside and Zelda was awake. "Hey kids hope you don't mind but I ran into an old college buddy who needed a ride." Both teens looked at each other puzzled as Urbosa called out to her friend "Okay now get your ass in here."

Revali awkwardly stepped in and took one look at the two teens and his face contorted into an expression of disgust. Link shyly waved hello and smiled at his new avian trailer-mate. 

"Ch-Children?!" Revali exclaimed. "You didn't say there would be children!" 

"Oh come on, they're teenagers. They won't bother you too much." Urbosa Reassured.

"Why do you even have them here?!" Revali demanded to know.

Urbosa quickly cane up with a good excuse. "I'm watching my friends' kids for a few months that's all." 

Zelda stuck out her and and greeted, "Hello! My name is Zelda. Zelda Hyrule. And this here is my friend Link. He can be a bit shy at first but he's very friendly." 

Link signed a friendly little "Hello" but Revali couldn't understand it.

The rito cautiously took Zelda's extended and into his good wing and shook it. "It's... a pleasure to meet you, I guess..." 

Link tried to sign a question to the rito.

"Is... Is that one trying to communicate?" Revali asked Urbosa. "It's making all these weird hand signals at me."

"Just ignore him, he can be kind of a dick sometimes." Said Urbosa.

"Oh well thank you for warning me Urbosa." Said Revali.

"I was talking to Link." Urbosa said as she eyed at him. "The kids' mute. He was asking for more info on how you knew me. I guess I'll just answer for you." She turned to face Link and Zelda. "Knew him in college. Met him when he was a freshman and I was a senior. We would get into some crazy shit from time to time. You know, college stuff." Then she added teasingly. "As you could probably tell, he was the friend that everyone secretly hated." 

"Hey! People liked me!" Revali defended himself.

"Yea, sure they did pal." Urbosa said as she patted him on the back. "Okay now let's get moving. Link can probably tell you where the snacks are if you want any." 

Urbosa got into the driver's seat and started the vehicle. This was going to be an interesting trip.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAA sorry for taking so long on this! I’ve just been really distracted with school and such. Plus I had writers block for a while. Glad I finally found time to finish this chapter though!

The rest of the day was a bit awkward. It mostly consisted of Link and Zelda chatting a bit, Link devouring bags of chips, and Revali avoiding the two as much as possible. Eventually Urbosa pulled over at a trailer parking lot and called it a day.

She stretched out her arms and let out a long yawn. "Damn I'm exhausted. Bout time I get some shut eye. You guys probably should too. Specially you Link."

"Without a proper meal?" Complained Revali. 

"There's some sandwiches in the fridge if any of you get hungry. And uh Link, I know you got a big appetite and all but try to eat just one okay hon?"

Link nodded his head in compliance. 

"Where am I going to sleep?" Asked Revali.

"Well unfortunately there's only two beds in here so we're going to have to double up." Replied Urbosa.

"What?! If you make me sleep with one of those-"

"Of course not you idiot you're sleeping with me!" 

Revali's face may have been covered with feathers but it was clear that he was blushing underneath them. "Oh.."

Urbosa rolled her eyes. "Yea don't get any funny ideas Birdbrains, you know I'm a girls only kinda gal!" 

"Yes er... of course!" Ravali said embarrassed.

"We'll take the bottom bunk and you kids can take top bunk." Urbosa told the two teens.

Zelda's cheeks turned pink. "Y-You mean me and Link we'll be together?"

"Yea." Said Urbosa. "But if it's too awkward for you two I'd be willing to switch with one of you."

"NO!" They heard Revali shout from the his bed with a beak full of sandwich. 

"Oh no I think I'll be fine. You too Link right?"

Link quickly nodded in agreement. 

"This sandwich has mayonnaise! I hate mayonnaise!" Revali whined.

"Yea kay shut up." Urbosa said as she took out a blanket and draped it over his head. 

"Hey you can't pull that trick on me anymore! I am far more experienced and in control of my instincts than I was 10 years ago you know. You can't just make me fall asleep by-" And then he was fast asleep.

Urbosa yawned again. "Alright you two I'm going to bed. See you kids in the morning." 

"Goodnight Urbosa." Said Zelda. 

"Night." Link whispered softly. 

"Nighty night." Urbosa said back before she turned out the lights and crawled into the bottom bunk

Zelda climbed up to the top bunk and Link after. The area up there was a bit cramped so they had to squish together closer than they had hoped. They lay down facing back to back and I didn't say anything to each other. Partially because things felt a little too awkward and partially because Link was finishing off the rest of his sandwich.  
Link, who was laying on the outer part of the bed, looked down at the floor and noticed a very faint blue glow emitting from Zelda's backpack.

"No way, you still have that?" Link whispered to Zelda.

"Have what?" She asked.

"The blue nightshade I gave you for prom. I can see it glowing a little bit in your backpack." He answered.

"Oh, yea. I kept it. It's special to me." She said.

Link blushed. "It is?"

"Yes, it is. It was a gift from you. That night may not have ended very well but I still had fun with you while it lasted. I really liked hanging out with you that night." 

Link could feel his face and ears turning red. "Yea, I really liked hanging out with you too."

"Mhm..." Zelda said sleepily. 

She drifted off to sleep soon after. It was not uncommon for Zelda to have nightmares. She kept anxiously tossing and turning under the covers in her sleep, and every so often she'd make a small pained whimper. Being cramped up next to someone didn't exactly make it very comfortable either.  
Then, in the midst of whatever awful dream she was having, everything just stopped. It was like dream had vanished completely and everything was now peaceful and quiet. And she felt safe. Safer than she had felt in a long time. She slowly awoke and realized that someone was holding her. It was Link.  
Her face and ears turned bright red. She could tell he was fast asleep and she didn't know wether she should wake him up or not. She could feel his warm breath on the back of her neck, making her heart race. He shuffled a bit and ever so gently tightened his hold on her. It felt nice. She decided against waking him, she didn't want him to let go. Without much effort she was able to fall back asleep, with no nightmares plaguing her for the rest of the night.  
When she woke up the next morning she could no longer feel him. It made her panic slightly. But then she could hear his voice softly humming. She scooted up to the edge of the bed and looked down to see him dressed in different clothing and flipping pancakes over an electric grill. The smell made Zelda's stomach grumble. 

"Hey." She said to him.

Link shyly looked up at her. "Oh, hey Zelda. Good morning." 

"Those look good." Zelda complimented

"Th-Thanks..." Link said as flipped a pancake.

Both of them heard heard a yawn coming from Urbosa in the back. "Looks like someone found the pancake batter" She said as she stretched.

"I'm making them for everybody." Said Link.

"Oh, that sure is nice of you. Can't remember the last time someone made breakfast for me." She yanked the blanked off of Revali's head. "Hey Birdbrains Links' making breakfast for you." 

Revali pulled the sheets over his head and groaned. "Leave me alone." He mumbled. 

"I'll save some for him to eat later." Said Link.

Zelda asked, "There doesn't happen to be a public bathroom or shower around here does there? I've been dressed in the same clothes since the night I left home and I'm feeling a bit grungy." 

"Yea, there's a bathroom and shower at the other end of the parking lot. I used it to clean up and get changed before I started cooking." Link answered.

"Oh thank Hylia." Said Urbosa. "Birdbrains here really needs a shower. Imagine spending a night sleeping next to someone who hasn't bathed in a week!" Urbosa pinched her nose. "And I suppose I could also use a rinse." She lightly jabbed Revali in the side. "Ey get up off your feathery ass and go take a shower you smell like a hinox's toenail."

The sleepy rito groaned again and sunk down deeper into the sheets. Urbosa decided that she had enough and before Revali knew it he was being rolled up in the sheets via bird-burrito style and flung over over Urbosa's shoulder. Muffled squawking could be heard from inside said burrito. 

"Make sure to save me two pancakes" Urbosa said before she grabbed a new set of clothes for both of them and headed out to the showers.

Zelda climbed down the ladder and sat down on a small couch. There was an awkward silence between the two for a moment. 

Link flipped another pancake. "Hey I uh... I'm sorry if things got weird last night. You were having a bad dream and I wanted to comfort you but I guess I fell asleep like that." 

"It's okay..." Said Zelda blushing a little bit. "I didn't mind." 

Link blushed too. "Oh, then that's good... Yea..." 

There was another awkward silence before Link tried to break it by asking, "Weren't you gonna go take a shower?"

"I decided to take it after I eat breakfast. I'm starving!" She replied.

"Okay then, I guess I can serve you now. Paper plates are in the cupboard." Link said giving her a sweet smile. 

Zelda opened up the cupboard and grabbed a plate and before she had any time to react she heard Link shout, "Heads up!" And two pancakes came flying in her direction, one barely landing halfway on to the plate in her hands and the other landing right on her head.

Link immediately apologized. "Woah! Sorry! Thought you would have caught that. My bad!"

Zelda giggled. "It's alright, just try to be more careful next time."

"There's butter and syrup in the cupboard too if you'd like some." Said Link.

"You sure Urbosa is okay with us just using her stuff?" Zelda asked

Link shrugged. "She seemed okay with it when she woke up."

"That is true. I guess I'd like some butter and syrup then." 

Zelda reached back in to the cupboard and grabbed what she needed. She happily buttered the pancakes and poured herself some syrup before handing them over to Link who was already done with the other pancakes. Link set Urbosa and Revali's servings to the side and pulled out a huge stack of pancakes for himself. He slathered the them in what seemed to Zelda would be way too much butter and then completely drenched them in syrup. 

"Would you like some pancakes with your syrup?" Zelda asked jokingly.

"What can I say? I have a sweet tooth!" Said Link with a chuckle. 

Zelda dug right into her breakfast. "This is really good!" She complemented.

Link blushed again. "Thanks, I added some buttermilk to the batter to give it more flavor." 

"Oh, my mother used to make them like that!" Zelda said with a smile.

It didn't take Link long for him to completely devour his pancakes. Zelda was barely on her second one while Link was already licking his plate clean of syrup. 

"Well you certainly have some good table manners." Zelda commented sarcastically.

Link scratched the back of his head and blushed, "Sorry, got a big appetite heh.”

“How do you eat that much and still stay so fit?” Zelda asked

“Well I work out a lot that’s for sure. I also have a really fast metabolism I guess. I’ve always been way more energetic than most other kids I know. My parents even used to get really annoyed with how hyper I was sometimes when I was little” Link answered as he put another pancake on his plate. 

“Oh I’m sure you weren’t that bad.” Said Zelda.

“Oh you’d be surprised,” said Link. “I was apparently pretty hard to control. I wasn’t a bad kid per say, but I would often get myself hurt because of how reckless I was, or get my parents called into the school office for being “disruptive to the class.” I know it’s hard to believe now, but I used to be a lot more talkative back then. I was louder too.”

“Really now? That’s hard to imagine.” Zelda commented.

Link continued, “Yea I was like that until my dad whipped me into shape. He taught me to channel my energy into training. It actually helped, but I do still get a little “antsy” sometimes. Funny thing though, it was actually my mom that would get annoyed at me for being so hyper more often then it was my dad. She even snapped at me a few times. But still, I’d much rather would have preferred to dealing with that growing up than, well you already know....” 

Zelda quickly tried to change the subject off Link’s parents. “So uh, Revali. He sure is... a character...”

“You can say asshole, it’s okay.” Said Link with a mouth full of pancake.

Zelda snorted, “Link!”

“He kinda is though.” Said Link.

“Well I suppose your not wrong.” Said Zelda holding back a giggle.

She got up out of her seat and threw her plate and plastic utensils in the trash bin. “I should probably go take a shower now. See you in a bit.” She said before she grabbed her bag full of clothes and headed out the doo.

Link did a little wave goodbye. 

Zelda walked over to the showers and gave her self a nice good rinse, using some cheap shampoo Link got from the store when they picked up Revali. The water was a bit on the cold side, but it still felt relieving after not showering for the past few days.  
When she got out she dried herself off, she put on a new change of clothes and braided her hair in the front so it would stay out of her face. When she stepped outside and began heading on her way back, she heard a whistle followed by a clearly drunk voice saying “hey there cutie!”

“Oh, well this is just fantastic.” Zelda thought to herself. This was not the first time this has happened to her. She had a, for lack of a better term, “well developed” rear end. And it seemed to often catch the attention of many obnoxious teenage boys and creepy older men.  
“Just keep walking and ignore them.” She said to herself.

“Hey cutie why don’t you come over here!” 

Zelda just rolled her eyes and kept walking. But then to her alarm. she could hear footsteps behind her.  
“Damn, wish I packed mace. Guess I could always use my fists if I have no other choice” She thought to herself again as her walking began to pick up pace. 

“Hey I’m talking to you!” The man’s voice was getting louder.

Now Zelda was starting to feel a little bit scared. “Where’s Urbosa when I need her...”

Suddenly she felt a taught grasp on her arm. She was about a split second away from turning around and knocking the man’s teeth out when his hand let go and she could hear panicked crying coming from him.

Then, another voice spoke, this one being deep and booming. Zelda looked up to see a huge goron holding the offender up in the air by his shirt collor. “Hey you freak! You think it’s cool to creep on young girls like that?!”

“N-No! Please don’t hurt me, I-I won’t do it again I promise!” the offender pleaded.

“Get out of here creep!” Said the goron as he tossed the man to the pavement. 

The man quickly got up and ran away without looking back.

“Wow... Uh, thank you sir.” Zelda said to the goron a bit shocked at what had just gone down.

“Aw well it’s no problem little miss. I really hate guys like that. You okay?” asked the goron.

“Uh, yea. I’m fine. A bit shaken, but I’m okay.” Zelda answered.

“You know a young girl like you shouldn’t be walking around all alone out here. This part of town is known to be kinda shady. I think I saw some weird guy in a green unitard selling crack claiming it was “magic fairy dust” over by the KFC over there...Yea I really wouldn’t recommend wondering around here kid.” The goron warned.

“Oh, thank you for that info. But I’m not far from my friend’s trailer so I should be fine.” Zelda reassured. 

“Well, as long as your safe. Names’ Daruk by the way.” Said the goron.

“It’s nice to meet you Daruk, my name is Zelda.” Zelda said politely.

“It’s nice to meet you too Zelda!” Daruk said with an earnest smile. He seemed like a friendly guy, despite his intimidating size.

“Hey by the way, you don’t happen to know where the Kokiri Foster Care Center is do you?” Daruk asked, “I really need to get there and I think I might have gotten a bit lost along the way.” 

“Oh I don’t think i’ve ever heard of that place. If you want you can come with me and I’ll ask my mo- er... friend, I mean friend.” Said Zelda.

“Alright, sounds good.” Said Daruk.

Zelda and Daruk walked back to the trailer. Urbosa and Revali were already back by the time they got there. 

“Took you long enough.” Said Urbosa. She took a look at the big goron. “Made a friend I see.”

“This is Daruk” Said Zelda, “He beat up a guy who tried to grab for me.”

“Woah, what?! Someone grabbed you?!” Urbosa exclaimed in alarm. 

Link also stood up in alarm and his ears flattened back.

“Don’t worry ma’m it’s all taken care of. That guy wont be coming near her again that’s for sure.” Daruk said reassuringly. 

“He better not if he values his teeth.” Urbosa said, still a bit tense.

Link sat back down, but he still looked upset over what he had heard

“Um, Urbosa, Daruk needs some directions to a place called the Kikori Foster Care Center. I was wondering if you knew where that was.” Zelda asked.

“Hm, never heard of it. Maybe Revali knows something.” Urbosa stuck her head back in the trailer and shouted, “Hey Birdbrains I have a question!”

Zelda could hear Revali’s annoyed reply coming from inside the trailer, “You don’t have to shout you know, I’m right here.”

“Do you know where a place called the Kikori Foster Care Center is? This guy is trying to get there.” Urbosa asked the rito.

“How should I know?” Revali replied.

Link shyly raised his hand.

“Do you know little guy?” Daruk asked.

Link nodded. He signed and Zelda translated for Daruk, “I have a cousin who was adopted from there, her name is Aryll. Haven’t seen her in years though. It’s really far away, up in the Tabantha region.”

“Oh... well I guess I got more than just a little lost now did I.” Daruk said scratching the back of his head. “See my brother had recently died and his little boy, Yunobo, was left an orphan. I decided I’d raise him as my own but I was away at the time so he was taken into foster care until I could pick him up.” the goron sighed, “Really didn’t need this on top of my brother’s death...” 

“Oh... I’m very sorry to hear that” said Urbosa.

Then an idea popped into Zelda’s head. “Well, we’re heading to Tabantha region anyways. Maybe we can lead you there?” She suggested.

Daruk’s face lit up.

“Well I suppose it is the least we could do in return for you helping out Zelly.” Said Urbosa. “Not sure how you’re gonna fit in the trailer though. No offense but you are kinda big.”

“Oh that’s no problem ma’m, I can just roll along behind you!” Said Daruk.

“Oh thank Hylia. Last thing I want is this place to become even more crowded.” The could hear Revali comment from inside the trailer. 

“That’s just Revali, don’t mind him. Oh, and I’m Urbosa by the way. The shy one is Link and you’ve already met Zelda.”

“Well it’s nice to meet you all! I can’t thank you enough Urbosa!” Daruk said cheerfully as he took Urbosa’s hand and shook it a bit harder than intended.

Urbosa tried to hide the pained look on her face once he let go of her hand. “Well, it’s nice to have you a part of the gang Daruk.”


	11. Chapter 11

Urbosa and the gang were back on the road, with Daruk rolling on behind them. It had been a few hours and the kids, as well as Revali, were getting pretty bored. Revali tried to sleep away his boredom, but he eventually slept so much that he was no longer tired and could sleep no more. Zelda tried to remedy her boredom by playing some app games on her phone, but there’s only so much Candy Crush one person can tolerate without feeling the urge to kill the closest living thing in their proximity. But Link had it the worst. He had been cooped up in the trailer for days and was going stir crazy. He needed to run, climb, or do anything besides just sit around all day. His leg was shaking and ears would twitch every so often. Zelda noticed how he would aggressively fiddle with his earrings or tug on his side bangs in attempt to get some kind of stimulation. He was eating more too, even more than he usually did. Urbosa eventually had to ask him to stop, which he obeyed, feeling embarrassed. Urbosa felt bad for denying him food, but he was eating so much that she was afraid their supplies would run out. She did try to turn on the radio for at least some entertainment, but the reception where they were at was terrible and almost every channel was just static aside from one channel that would play nothing but vaporwave. She didn’t even know a channel like that existed, but it was all they had to listen too so she figured she might as well keep it on. She was pretty annoyed with herself that she forgot to bring any CDs, and the trailer was an old model that didn’t have anywhere to connect her phone so she could play music.  
So there they were, four people bored out of their minds, one of them on the verge of going insane, as vaporwave played softly in the background. After a few more hours of this Urbosa had finally decided that enough was enough and pulled the car over by a convenience store. 

Urbosa turned over to the others and spoke, “Ugh okay, tell you guys what. I’ll give you all some money and each of you go get a CD you like. I’ll grab some more food and a board game or a deck of cards or something. And kids, feel free to stretch your legs a bit. Go out for a walk if you want, just as long as you don’t head off too far.” 

They all seemed to like that idea, Link especially. She gave them all some money and they all stepped out of the vehicle. Daruk was out there waiting for them and asked why they stopped. 

“We really needed to get out of that trailer.” Said Revali, “I had to sit there listening to nothing but vaporwave music for four hours! I don’t think I’ll ever get it out of my head...”

“We’re also getting some things to entertain ourselves with and restocking on supplies.” Zelda continued for him.

“Sounds like a good idea!” Said Daruk, “You know if you want I could pitch in. I got some cash on me.”

“Thank you Daruk, that’s very kind of you to offer!” Said Urbosa.

“Oh it’s no problem!” Said Daruk as he scratched the back of his head bashfully. 

The gang headed into the store and they picked out some things they liked. Urbosa got a deck of cards, a CD with a mix of various 80’s songs on it, and way more snacks than last time because damn did that Link kid sure liked to eat.  
After shopping they all converged outside the store.

“I got an 80’s hits CD, how bout’ you guys?” Urbosa asked the others.

Zelda shared her pick first. “I got a collection of classical pieces to help us stay focused during our trip. I listen to music like this when I study.”

Revali and Link’s expressions turned to kind of a, “Really? Could you have picked something more boring?” sort of expression. But then Urbosa shot the boys a mean look and they quickly put on fake smiles.

Urbosa took the CD and read the back of it. “Wow that’s... that sure is a lot of songs...”

“Over fifty classics!” Zelda said gleefully. 

“Why are so many of these Christmas songs?” Urbosa asked.

“Well they only seemed to have Cristmas albums in the classical section so...” Zelda explained.

“Oh um, well that’s fine. Never to early to have the Christmas spirit I suppose.” Said Urbosa, despite the fact that she nor anyone else in the group celebrated Christmas or were even christian to begin with.

Then the conversation switched to Revali’s choice. Which was.... Nickleback... Everyone, as well as Urbosa, turned to the rito with that, “Seriously?” expression. 

“Don’t judge! It’s art!” Revali exclaimed in defense. 

“Alright man, whatever floats your boat I guess.” Urbosa said with a shrug.

“Ooh, ooh! Do me next!” Daruk pleaded excitedly.

“Alright big guy what did you bring?” Asked Ubrosa.

Daruk then handed her his CD, “Hank Wiliam’s greatest hits”

“Oh...” Responded Urbosa. She couldn’t stand country music. But she didn’t want to be rude so she said thanks anyways. Link on the other hand seemed somewhat excited about the pick as was expressed by him nodding happily. 

“You like country music little guy?” Asked Daruk.

Link signed and Zelda translated, “It’s weird because I didn’t think I would like it, but it’s like there’s something deep in my subconscious telling me that I have to like it. As if I had a past life that was obsessed with country music or something.” 

“...Alright then...” Daruk said a little bit confused at Link’s answer.

“Okay Kid what did you get?” Urbosa asked Link. 

His cheeks and ears turned a bit red with embarrassment. 

Urbosa tried to reassure him, “Don’t worry I’m not gonna judge. Unless it’s Nickleback that is.” 

“IT’S ART!” Revali shouted.

Link shyly handed Urbosa the CD. 

She took a look at it, “The High School Musical 2 soundtrack.... Yea okay, whatever I guess. Why not?” 

Link smiled cheerfully at her approval.

“Well, I’m gonna go back in the trailer and take a nap, you guys can go do what you want as long as you don’t get yourselves into trouble or wander off too far.”  
Link and Zelda went off on a walk to get some much needed exercise, while Daruk, feeling tired from rolling all day, decided to stay behind.

“You wanna play some cards?” He asked Revali.

“Eh, as long as you don’t mind getting absolutely DESTROYED.” Said Revali.

Daruk let out a hardy laugh, “Now that’s the spirit!” 

Meanwhile, Link and Zelda were walking along a pipeline. Link had climbed on top of the large pipe and was walking on top of it.

“You sure you should be doing that?” Asked Zelda.

Link just shrugged.

“Well I don’t want you to get hurt.” Zelda told him.

Link said, “If I can get up fine after falling off of the side of your house, I can probably handle falling off a water pipe.” 

Zelda folded her arms and furrowed her brow. “Well just try not to break it okay? The last thing we need right now is to get in to trouble.”

“Dude will you chill out? I may eat a lot but I actually don’t weigh that much. And besides, who’s gonna build a water pipe so weak that it breaks when one person walks on top of it? I mean look,” Link then jumped up and down on the pipe a few times.

“Link don’t do that!” Zelda scolded him.

“Oh come on, I didn’t even dent it” Said Link. “You’re overreacting. Look I’ll even do it again and nothing will happen, just watch.” 

Against Zelda’s wishes, he proceeded to jump on the pipe several times.

“See? Not even a scratch!” Link said out of breath as he was jumping up and down. “Told ya you were just overre-“ 

“BANG, BANG.”

Link leaped in to the air and landed butt first on the ground. 

“Link!” Zelda shouted. 

“BANG, BANG, BANG.”

“Woah, wait I don’t think that was me...” Said Link. I think it’s coming from the inside.”

Zelda inspected the top of the pipe where Link was standing. No dents, so it really wasn’t him.

“BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG.” 

The loud noise startled Zelda and made her jump back from the pipe. 

“I guess it wasn’t you. Sorry about that Link.” Zelda apologized.

“I wanna find out what that is!” Said Link.

“Wait what? Why?” Zelda asked.

“I think there’s something in there!” Link said as he walked up to the pipe and placed his ear against it. 

“It’s probably just rocks.” Said Zelda.

“Still though, wouldn’t hurt to find out.” Said Link.

“Well I suppose we don’t have anything better to do.” Zelda gave in.

Link knocked on the pipe two times.

“BANG, BANG.”

Then he knocked on it four times.

“BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG.”

Then only one time.

“BANG.”

“Okay...” Zelda said. “Maybe it’s not just rocks after all...” 

“Weird, whatever it is, it seems to be able to mimic us.” Said Link.

Zelda walked went up to the pipe and knocked on it six times.

“BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG.” 

“Woah...” Was all Zelda could say.

Link rubbed his chin. “Hmmmm.... Maybe we shouldn’t mess with this thing.”

“Wait, I thought you wanted to find out what it was?” Said Zelda.

“Well I do but...” Said Link. “But this same thing kinda happened on this one episode of Doctor Who, and then the thing that was making the noise was this alien that possessed people and like people straight up died man, that episode scared the shit outta me when I was little. I had nightmares for three days straight!”

“Link... I highly doubt that it’s an alien that posses people.” Said Zelda. “And what if it’s a scared animal that’s trapped in there?”

“Yea I guess your right.” Said Link. “The alien theory was a bit of a stretch anyways heh.” 

“Now let’s see if we can communicate with it vocally.” Said Zelda. She leaned in closer to the pipe. “Hello?” 

There was a few moments of silence as the two teens waited in suspense. Then, there was a muffled screeching noise followed by the sound of claws scratching against the inside of the pipe. It sounded panicked and distressed, like it was desperately trying claw it’s way out.  
Link and Zelda both stood back in astonishment.

“Wh-What is that?!” Zelda exclaimed.

Link listened carefully again, “That almost sounds like.... A zora? Crying?” 

“It... It kinda does... And it sounds like a young one too I think...” Said Zelda. Then it hit her. “Oh no, you don’t think?!”

“There’s a kid stuck in there!” Link exclaimed. “We should call 911!”

“No we can’t go do that! Don’t you remember?” Said Zelda, “We need to find another way!” 

“Yea your right.” Link agreed. “But fist things first, I think we should try to get the kid to calm down a bit so they don’t hurt themselves.”

“Yes, good idea.” Said Zelda. “You go do that while I think of something!” 

Link went back up to the pipe as Zelda began to pace back and forth, quickly trying to think of a solution. 

He tapped on the pipe a bit and said “hey” in a soft voice. 

The screeching continued. 

“Hey.” He said again, a little bit louder this time. “It’s gonna be okay, we’re gonna get you out!” 

The volume of the crying become quieter.

“Bang twice if you can here me.” Link said.

“BANG, BANG.”

Link let out a sigh of relief.

Zelda finally spoke, “Alright, I think I have an idea that might work. I remember seeing a water duct close by when we were still on the road. Maybe this pipe leads to that? It shouldn’t be too far from the store. It should be in the opposite direction from where we were walking.”

Before Zelda could say anything else, Link had charged off towards the other direction. After about five minutes he ran back all out of breath.

“I found it” he panted, “Yea I think this pipe leads to it.”

“You think?” Said Zelda.

“Well it’s like, a pretty good chance I mean.” Link replied with a shrug.

Zelda let out a sigh, “I suppose that will have to be good enough.” She leaned in towards the pipe again. “Hey, can you hear me?” She asked the trapped Zora. “Scratch twice if you can hear me.”

There were two scratches just like Zelda instructed. 

“Alright, what we’re going to do is try to lead you to a way out. Now I imagine that it’s very dark in there so you’ll have to follow the noises we make. And try to make noises back so that we know you’re following us.” Zelda instructed. “You got that?”

The Zora made two more scratching noises to indicate that they had heard her. 

“Alright, just follow the noises okay?” Zelda said again.

Link walked further down the pipe and knocked on it a few times.

After waiting a few moments Zelda asked, “Are you there?” And she would get a scratch or a bang in reply. They kept repeating this over and over again as the moved along the pipeline. Then the pipeline ran through a concrete wall. 

“Alright buddy, now the rest is up to you. Just swim directly to the right and the duct shouldn’t be far” Link instructed as he secretly prayed to the goddesses that the pipe actually lead to the right water duct.

After the zora gave them the signal that they understood, the two teenagers quickly made their way to the water duct and waited with bated breath. After minute or two had gone by they started to get worried. Link got in front of the duct and tried to peep inside of it, not caring if he got wet. 

“Do you see anything?” Zelda asked.

“No, I don’t think-“ Then suddenly Link had the wind knocked out of him as a small red blur shot out of the pipe right into Link’s stomach. 

“Oh my gods!” He could hear Zelda shout. 

It took a second for Link to pull his mind back together and get up to see what had just happened. And there he saw a young zora boy with red scales, he couldn’t have been more than 6 or 7 years old. He was shaking and sobbing uncontrollably.  
Link waisted no time rushing to the child’s aid. 

“Hey...” Link said in an ever so soft voice. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

The young wasn’t crying as much now, but he was still clearly terrified and too shaken to speak.

“We should take him back to the trailer as fast as we can!” Said Zelda.

Link nodded in agreement. He spoke to the young boy again softly, “We’re gonna help you okay?” 

He could see that the child was too shaken to get up, so he decided it would be best to carry him and the zora allowed him to do so. He clung on to Link as if his life depended on it. Link could feel the boy’s claws sink into his skin, which did hurt a little bit, but he thought it would be cruel to try and pry him off. Link also got this funny feeling about the boy. Like there was something about him that was very familliar, but he couldn’t for the life of him tell what it was.  
Link and Zelda quickly rushed off to the trailer with the child. When they arrived they saw Ravali and Daruk had taken a folding table and chairs to play cards on.

“DAMMIT!” Revali shouted as he pounded his fists on the table, which he immediately regretted because of his injured wing.

“Hey little guy there’s no need to get angry, it’s just a game after all!” Daruk said with a laugh.

“But you keep winning! How is this supposed to be any fun for me?!” Revali complained.

“Well I guess that just means you’ll have to get better.” Daruk said with another laugh.

Revali said nothing and just sat there in silence with a very annoyed look on his face.

“Hey!” they heard Zelda shout as her and Link came running up to them.

Daruk greeted them, “Oh hey you two, you were sure gone for a while.” 

Then they took notice of the small zora child clinging on to Link.

“Woah! Whats? going on here? Did you find a lost kid or something?” Asked Daruk.

“Something Link that.” Replied Zelda. “We found him stuck in a water pipe and rescued him. We’re not sure if he’s injured or where his parents are.” 

“Then what are you waiting for? Call 911!” Said Revali.

Zelda knew they couldn’t do that, but while she was trying to come up with a good excuse, the zora child began to panic.

“NO, NO, DON’T CALL ANYONE!” He screamed frantically. “THEY’LL MAKE ME GO BACK! THE BAD GUYS WILL GET ME AGAIN!”

This sudden panicking took everyone by surprise and no one was sure how to react.

“What the hell is going on out here?” Asked Urbosa as she arose from the trailer still half asleep. 

She saw the little boy sobbing loudly with his face buried into Link’s neck. Link sat down with him on the ground and tried to get him to calm down, rocking him back and forth and rubbing his back. 

Zelda knelt down next to the both of them. “It’s okay sweetheart, no one is going to hurt you, you’re safe with us.” 

“P-Please don’t call anyone....” Said the little zora, who’s voice was barely audible through all his blubbering.

Urbosa was both confused and very concerned. “Woah, what is going on? What’s wrong with that kid, is he okay?” 

“They found some kid stuck in a pipe or something and they brought him back here and then he just started screaming!” Said Revali who was also beginning to panic a bit.

“Oh jeeze... Okay, first things first let’s get the kid inside and try to calm him down. Then we can figure out what to do.” Said Urbosa.

“Why not just call 911?” Suggested Daruk.

The child started screaming again, “NO, NO, NO PLEASE DON’T CALL ANYONE! THEY’LL MAKE ME GO BACK WITH THE BAD GUYS!” 

Link held him tightly. “Shhh...” Was all he said. 

“Everyone, in the trailer, now!” Urbosa demanded.

Everyone complied and went inside, save for Daruk who couldn’t fit through the door, so he just stood outside it peeped his head inside.  
Link sat down with the boy on the bottom bunk bed and continued to comfort him. 

“Everyone give the kid some space, we don’t want to overwhelm him even more.” Said Urbosa. She knelt down in front of Link and the young boy. “Hey there little one.” She said as if she were talking to an injured puppy. 

“Please don’t call anyone...” The boy sobbed.

“I won’t.” Urbosa reassured him. 

The boy was silent for a while. Then he slowly turned to her and asked, “You promise?” 

“I promise.” Urbosa said with a comforting smile on her face. “You’re safe here, no one is going to hurt you.” 

The boy sniffled, “O-Okay...”

“Are you hurt?” Asked Urbosa.

“I bumped into something really hard while I was in the pipe and lost a tooth. But it doesn’t hurt, they always grow back...” The boy answered.

“Would you like to lie down for a while?” Urbosa asked.

The boy just nodded his head.

“Alright, you take a nap on the bed there if you want. Then when you wake up I could get you snack. How does that sound?” said Urbosa.

“...I’d Like that please...” The boy muttered.

The boy finally loosened his grip on Link and was set down on the bed. He climbed under the covers and pull them up all the way over his head. 

“You sleep tight.” Said Urbosa. Then she spoke to the other kids. “Link, Zelda, could you stay here and watch him while I go speak with the adults outside?” 

“We’ll keep an eye on him.” Said Zelda.

Urbosa and Revali went outside with Daruk and closed the door behind them.

“So... Why aren’t we calling the police?” Revali questioned.

“Are you kidding me? Did you see how that kid freaked out?!” Said Urbosa.

“Well we can’t not tell anybody.” Said Daruk.

“That little boy is absolutely terrified! No one is calling anybody until we’ve figured out exactly what’s going on! Am I understood?” Urbosa said in a stern voice.

“Yes ma’m...” Said the two men.

It was an hour later when the zora boy woke up from his nap. He made a big yawn that revealed the razor sharp teeth that hid under those cute pudgy cheeks of his. 

“Hello there little one.” Urbosa said to the boy. “You feeling any better?” 

“I little bit...” The boy said sleepily.

“Would you like something to eat?” Urbosa asked.

“Yes please.” Said the little boy.

“Link, could you please get some cookies and make some hot chocolate for him? Everything you’ll need is in the cupboard.” 

Link nodded and waisted no time making the hot chocolate. It only took about a minute to get done. He put the cookies and chocolate on a tray and handed it over to the boy. A little smile crossed his face as he gazed upon the tasty treat in front of him. Then in the blink of an eye he devoured all of it. Swallowed it whole without even chewing, not even waiting for the chocolate to cool down.

“Woah...” Said Urbosa, who was a little but shocked by this. “Looks like Link now has some competition for the world’s fastest eater haha!” 

The boy handed Link back the tray and looked at Urbosa with his big yellow eyes. “You still aren’t gonna call anyone?” 

“No. No one is calling anyone.” Urbosa reassured him again.

The boy nodded his head. “Mmm... good. I don’t want the bad guys to catch me again...”

Urbosa’s expression changed to that of deep concern. “Who are the bad guys sweetie? Did someone hurt you?” 

The boy looked down and didn’t say anything.

“It’s okay, you can tell me.” Said Urbosa.

The boy stayed silent for a little while longer before finally speaking. “Bad guys took me and my sister...”

“There’s another kid?!” Revali exclaimed.

Urbosa shushed him. “Shhh, let him finish!” 

The boy continued his story, “My sister has special powers that she kept secret. But somehow some bad guys found out and then they kidnapped her. And then they took me too because they thought that I might also have powers because I’m her brother. But I don’t, I’m just normal. But they didn’t believe me so they kept me anyways.” Tears started to well up in his eyes. “I was able to escape through the water system but I couldn’t get my sister out. I miss her so much...”

Link’s face turned white as a sheet. “No... that couldn’t be...” He thought. 

“Oh we should defiantly call the police!” Said Revali.

“NO!” Shouted the boy in protest. “The bad guys will find me! They police can’t arrest them because they’re super secret so anyone who says anything about them might get taken away too! Or get killed! And then they can easily find me! That’s what they told me!”

“So wait, what this kid is saying is that there’s some secret organization that kidnaps people with powers and kills anyone who knows about it?” Revali said rubbing his temple. “Urbosa, I think this kid might of hit his head a little too hard while he was stuck in that pipe.”

“But it’s true! I’m telling the truth!” Shouted the boy.

“I believe him!” Said Zelda.

“I do too!” Daruk chimed in.

“You people can’t be serious!” Revali shouted back. “He’s clearly fabricated this ridiculous story in his head as a result of panic and an over active imagination!”

“I did not!” The boy shouted again.

“We should at least listen to what he has to say Revali!” Said Urbosa.

“I never said I didn’t believe everything he said” Revali said in defense. “I do believe that he and his sister were kidnapped, and that he escaped. But all the stuff about special powers and a secret facility? Seems kinda far out there don’t you think? We really should call the police!”

“Well... I don’t think it’s that unlikely...” Said Zelda. “My mother had powers..”

“Wait, what?” Revali asked. 

“Uh, yea...” Zelda began, “When I was very young and she was still alive, she would show me magic. But it was real magic, not things like card tricks. I’m not sure what it was but she could produce this sort of light? She said I would be able to do it one day but I never could figure it out.” 

Zelda was expecting Urbosa to say something, but she didn’t. She just took it at face value, almost as if it didn’t surprise her, which was odd.

“I guess I just sort of... forgot?” Said Zelda.

“How do you forget something as cool as your mom having powers?!” Asked the boy.

“Well naturally as a got older I started to think that she was just making it up to entertain me. Lots of parents make things up to entertain their kids. Like stories about picori and keatons. But hearing someone else talk about it happening in their own family sort of makes me wonder now...” Zelda explained.

“Wait, keatons aren’t real?” Said Daruk. “I saw one digging around a trash can the other day though! Or maybe that was just someone’s pet vulpix...” 

“I saw a picori eating a taco once.” Said the zora.

“Are you people actually insane?!” Shouted Revali. “I can’t believe it... I’m stuck with a bunch of lunatics!”

Urbosa let put an annoyed sigh, “Okay we need to get back on track here. This boy is clearly in danger and we should at least take what he’s saying into consideration. And then maybe come with a solution in a CALM manner without shouting at each other!”

Revali rolled his eyes. “Oh for the love of Hylia! Well if you end up getting into trouble for keeping him here without telling the police, I don’t want anything to do with it!”

“Trust me Revali, I’m very cautious when it comes to these kinds of situations.” Urbosa said before internally screaming at herself for saying it out loud.

“Wait... What is that supposed to mean Urbosa?” Asked Revali slightly alarmed.

Urbosa tried to quickly some up with a good save. “N-Nothing, I don’t know what I was-“ 

“What kind of powers did your sister have?” 

The argument was interrupted. Everyone went silent turned to look at link.

“Did you just speak?” Revali asked.

Link ignored the rito and asked the zora again, “What kind of powers were they?”

“Um, they were healing powers.” he answered. 

Link’s body became tense and his face turned pale again. 

“What’s your name kid?” he asked.

“It’s... It’s Sidon. My name is Sidon.” the boy replied.

Link’s eyes widened and his ears drooped down. “Your sister... Her name doesn’t happen to be... Mipha, does it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well finally my writer’s block is gone (for now) and I’m finally able to write more often again!


	12. Chapter 12

Sidon looked at Link in astonishment. “Y-Yea... How did you know that?”

Link had sit down because he felt a little faint. 

“Link, have you two met before?” Asked Urbosa.

“...Yes.” Link answered in a quiet voice. “His sister, Mipha... She was my best friend back in elementary school... Until me and my dad moved after he and my mom divorced, and I haven’t seen her since... And the last time I saw Sidon he was still in his egg, so it’s not a surprise that he doesn’t remember me.” 

“Wait, is your name Lakyn?” Asked the boy. 

Link’s face turned red. “I-It used to be... but I changed it, my name is Link now...” 

Zelda was confused. “You never told me that Link wasn’t your real name.” 

Sidon continued, “Mipha talks about you all the time! She told me about how much trouble you used to get yourself into.” 

Link would have laughed at that, but he was far too concerned for his friend. “I’m... So worried about her... We have to get her out of there!” He began to shake, “I have to do something about this!”

“Wow, okay, this already crazy enough situation just got even crazier.” Said Daruk, “May I suggest that we take a break for tonight and come up with something in the morning?”

“No!” Link yelled. “We have to help her as soon as possible!” 

Everyone was surprised by this. None of them except for Zelda had ever heard Link yell before, and Zelda had only heard him yell once, and hearing it still felt surreal to her. He wasn’t the type of person you’d imagine to snap at others like that. 

Link immediately felt ashamed. “I’m sorry I just... I-I’m really scared for her...” Then Link went silent as usual again.

Zelda put her hand on his shoulder. Though she didn’t say anything

“Jeeze, okay, for now let’s just do what Daruk said. I think we all need a break and it’s getting late anyways.” Said Urbosa.

“B-But my sister!” Cried Sidon.

“We’ll... think of something.” Zelda told him. “But for now we should all get some rest.”

“A few of us could stay in that hotel across the street” Said Urbosa “There’s not enough room in here for all of us.”

“Oh! Please let me come with you!” Revali begged. “I’d do anything to have a bed for myself!”

“I guess I could stay out here and keep an eye on the kids.” Said Daruk.

“Hmmm... was thinking that the zora could stay with me.” Said Urbosa. 

Sidon pointed at Link. “I want to stay with him!” 

“You sure kid?” Asked Urbosa.

The little zora nodded yes.

“Alright. You guys stay safe. There’s some food in the fridge. And please try not eat all of it Link.” Said Urbosa. 

Urbosa and Revali left for the hotel and the others went right to bed. Except for Link that is. He couldn’t sleep. And for once he couldn’t even eat. He was so worried for his friend. He just lay there wide awake as Zelda slept next to him, his anxiety driving him crazy. But what could he do?  
Then, he heard movement from below the bunk. He looked down to see the trailer door wide open. He climbed down from the top bunk to to investigate, and discovered that Sidon was nowhere to be found. Link already knew what was going on. Sidon must have snuck out to go back for Mipha. He waisted no time rushing outside to catch up with the little zora. There was no way he was going to let a defenseless little kid go out there all alone.  
It didn’t take him long to find Sidon since he hadn’t yet traveled very far.  
The young zora stopped when he heard the sound of Link’s footsteps approaching from behind him. 

“You can’t stop me...” the boy said in a serious tone that one wouldn’t expect to come from a young child.

Link said nothing, he only looked at him with understanding. 

“Are you... Not going to try and stop me?” the boy asked.

Link shook his head.

“Are you hear to help me then?”

Link gave a little nod.

A wide grin appeared on Sidon’s face “Okay then! I know where to go! Follow me!” 

Sidon ran on ahead and Link followed his lead. The made their way back to the water pipe from earlier that day. 

“We just have to follow where this goes!” said Sidon, pointing to the pipe. 

They began following the pipeline. 

“You don’t talk that often do you?” asked Sidon as they walked together. 

Link shook his head. 

“Why not?”

He only replied with a shrug.

As they continued on their way Link got a funny feeling, like they weren’t alone. One of his ears began to twitch. He swore he could hear something.

“Stop.” Link said quietly.

They both froze in their tracks, but footsteps could still be heard. 

Link quickly grabbed the first thing he could find to defend himself, which was his phone. Not a very good weapon but he figured was something.  
He turned on the phone’s built in flashlight and flashed in the the face of their pursuer.

“Ahg! Hey!” shouted a familiar voice. 

“Z-Zelda?!” Link exclaimed in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“I er... I woke up when I couldn’t feel you next to me...” Zelda explained. “And then I saw that the door was open and you two were gone. I figured you must have snuck out to save her, your friend I mean. I... I want to help you...”

“Well you didn’t have to sneak up on us like that...” said Link.

“My apologies, I just now caught up with you two, so I didn’t have much time to alert you.”

“Come on, come on, let’s go!” said Sidon impatiently. 

The now party of three continued on along the pipeline. Eventually pipe led into a forest. It was eerie in the dark, and Zelda was beginning to feel unsettled. Her ears would twitch every so often whenever she heard something rustling around in the leaves on the ground. 

“Are you sure that we’re going the right way?” she asked Sidon.

“Mhm!” replied the little boy, seemingly not afraid of the spooky surrounding.

Zelda, without thinking, reached for Link’s hand so she could hold it. He accepted her hand and squeezed it gently, sensing she was nervous. This helped Zelda feel less anxious, but she was still a bit jumpy whenever she thought she saw something moving around in the dark.

“Look! There it is!” cried out Sidon.

It was a large intimidating looking concrete building that was surrounded buy a tall wire gate. 

Link shined his phone’s flashlight on the gate. “How do we get in?” he puzzled.

“Careful not to touch it.” said Zelda. “There could be an electric charge running through it.”

Then, a large shadow appeared in the light from Link’s phone. The three of them nearly jumped out of their skins. Zelda, without even looking, immediately took a swing at whatever it was. Her fist hit something hard and she pulled her hand away as she winced in pain.

“Woah! You alright?” 

She looked to see who was speaking. It was Daruk.

“Daruk?! What on earth are you doing here?!” She asked the goron.

“I’m sorry! Urbosa told me to keep an eye on you guys! I saw you all leave the trailer but I didn’t want to make you mad by stopping you...”

“Go back! You stick out like a sore thumb! What if we get caught?” Said Zelda.

“Well... I could help you out with that fence if you wanted. If it’s electric it wont hurt me as much as it would you guys.” said Daruk.

“Really? We may actually need you then!” Said Zelda. “I’m sorry for scolding you like that...”

“Aw don’t beat yourself up about it kid” Daruk said as he ruffled Zelda’s hair, which she did not appreciate very much. 

Daruk stepped up to the fence.

“Okay everyone, stand back!”

He then proceeded to rip the fence open with ease. The others stood there astounded by the impressive display of raw strength. 

“Alright, that should do it!” said Daruk, proud of his handiwork. “We should get going.”

“Wow! Thanks! You’re the best!” Sidon complemented the goron.

The four of them quietly snuck through the hole in the fence that Daruk had created.

“Do you know a way in Sidon?” asked Zelda.

“Um...” Sidon tried to think. “Um... I don’t know. I only sorta know my way around inside...”

Link scanned the side of the building for any entrance points that might be easy to get into. He noticed that there was a high up window he could possibly try to pry open. 

“I could climb up there and try to get in that way.” He signed while Zelda translated. “And I can bring Sidon with me because he’s small and light enough to carry. I can also try to come back for Zelda later.”

“I’ll stand guard out here and alert you if I see anyone!” said Daruk. “I may be big but I can disguise with the environment by curling up into a ball.”

“What’s the alarm signal?” asked Zelda.

“Well I was thinking something like this, CAW CAW!, CAW CAAAAAW!!!”

“Shhhh!!!! Shhhhh!!!! Daruk shut up!” everyone started chiming in. 

“Oh sorry, guess I sorta forgot we were supposed be keeping quiet too.”

Link turned to Sidon and spoke to him softly. “If you hop on my back I could get you up there easily.” 

“Okay! Let’s do this!” Sidon said enthusiastically with a grin.

He climbed up on to Link’s back and held on tight. 

“You sure you can make it up there little guy?” asked Daruk.

“I’m sure he can manage just fine.” said Zelda.

Link took a running start and leaped up on the side of the building. It was hard to get a grip at first it didn’t take long for him to adjust. There weren’t many places on the wall that he could grab on to, so he had to keep leaping his way up. Every time he leaped up he could hear Sidon giggle a little. It took him very little time to get up to the window. It was sealed shut. He tried his best to pry it open but he just couldn’t. And he didn’t want to try and smash it open because that could have set off the alarm. 

“CAW, CAW!!!!!”

Something big flew out from the dark and crashed right into the window so hard that it caused it to slightly creak open. Whatever it was then landed onto the ground with a “THUD”.

“Ouch! My beak!”

“Revali?!” Daruk exclaimed in shock

“Wh-What are you doing here?!” Revali asked in surprise.

“Well what are YOU doing here?” Zelda asked him back.

“I was testing to see if my wing was working better. I decided to do it while Urbosa was asleep because I know she’d never let me. I’m sure you know by now how protective she gets. She was the same way back in collage.” he explained.

“How did you end up all the way out here?” asked Daruk.

“Well I am quite the fast flyer, even with a broken wing.” the rito explained boastfully. “Unfortunately though I still haven’t healed enough to keep my balance.”

“Oh, well, we’re breaking into this building to save Sidon’s sister.” said Daruk casually. 

“WHA-“

Zelda clamped his beak shut. “Shhh!!!” 

She let go of his beak and he whispered, “Are you people cra-?”

“Hey!”

Everyone looked up at Sidon.

“The window is open!” he said. “Thanks Revali!” he added genuinely.

Link used all his strength to turn the window high enough so that they could crawl through. 

Then he heard Daruk call out to him “Hey! I got an idea so that you don’t have to spend all that energy going back down for Zelda!” 

Then he heard a scream as Zelda suddenly flew up past him so fast that he could only see the blur of her blond hair.

“Oops...” said Daruk. “I guess I must have put to much strength into that throw...”

“Zelda!” Link cried out. 

As she came falling back down he reached out and caught her by the arms just in the nick of time. He quickly pulled her up close to him. 

“Well I suppose that is one way to get up there.” Revali remarked. 

“Don’t you EVER do that again!” Zelda scolded. 

“S-Sorry miss!” apologized Daruk. “Won’t happen again!”

Zelda noticed how tightly Link was holding on to her and felt herself blush.

“Y-You can... let go of me now...” she said to him. 

“Oh, sorry!” said Link.

“Come on, come on! Let’s gooo!” Sidon said impatiently as he tugged on Link’s jacket hood.

“Revali, you’re on guard duty with Daruk.” said Zelda.

“Actually, I’d much rather not risk getting arrested so I think I’ll just be heading back.” Said Revali.

“What? Are you scared?” Zelda said cheekily.

“Scared?!” Revali said insulted. “I’ll take down every guard I see if I have to! I have no fear of anything!”

“Alright then! Shouldn’t be a problem!” said Zelda.

“Hey wait just a second now!” Revali was about to start saying something until the three kids crawled through the window and he couldn’t finish his sentence.

Daruk and Revali were left outside standing in silence. 

Daruk broke the silence and asked “Sooo uh... You don’t think the some of the guards would have dogs with them do you?”

“It’s likely they do.” replied Revali, still annoyed at what Zelda had pulled on him.  
Then he asked Daruk, “Why do you ask?”

Daruk tensed up “Er... No reason....” he replied. 

He looked up at the window where Link, Zelda, and Sidon had snuck in through. 

“I sure hope they get out okay...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive my outdated Robots refrence.


	13. Chapter 13

The four kids crawled on to a rafter as they entered through the window. The interior of building was dimly lit and eerily quiet. 

“Where to now?” Zelda whispered.

“I was held in room A-16 I think. So my sister might be in room A-15 or A-17. I think...” said Sidon. 

“You only think?” asked Zelda.

“I’m 6 years old, cut me some slack here.”

“Fair enough.”

Link shone his phone flashlight down on a large door. “That one says A-4. We shouldn’t be too far.”

“Link!” Zelda took his phone from him. “We can’t use these in here! It’s going to be far more easier for us to get caught now that we’re inside. The flashlights could draw attention.”

“Oh yea, sorry.” said Link. “Can I uhhh, have that back now please?”

“Oh, of course. Here you go.” Zelda handed him his phone back. 

Link quickly climbed down with Sidon on his back and gently set him down on the floor. Then he climbed back up for Zelda.

“You sure you can carry me down?” Zelda asked nervously I’m certain I weigh a lot more than a small child.”

“It’s okay, I promise I won’t let you fall this time. Just hold on tight.”

Zelda awkwardly climbed up on Link’s back and tightly wrapped her harms and legs around him.

“Ahg! Not that tight!” Link wheezed.

“I’m sorry!” Zelda said as she loosened her grip a little.

“You know you’re a lot stronger than you look!” said Link. “Er... Not that you don’t look strong that is. You just look stronger than uhhh... you look...?”

Zelda giggled. “It’s alright Link, really! I appreciate the compliment.”

Link began his climb down, much more slowly this time. Zelda was a lot heaver than Sidon, but he had just enough upper body strength to carry her.  
Zelda shut her eyes and buried her face into his neck. He couldn’t help but blush when he felt her breath against his skin.  
When he got down to the bottom she was still clinging on to him.

“You can um... Let go now, if you want...” he said to her.

“Oh...” said Zelda. She let go of him and stepped on to the floor. “Guess that took a lot faster than I thought it would.”

“Come on! This way!” said Sidon before he took off as fast as his little legs could take him.

“Woah, hold on!” the other two ran to catch up with him. 

“A-5, A-6, A-7, A-8....” Zelda counted the room numbers as they ran along. “A-12, A-13, A-14, here’s A-15! Okay, you check in A-17 while I check in this room.”

Link tried to open the door for A-17. “It’s Locked.” he said.

“Same here, damn.” said Zelda.

Then, a bright light came out of nowhere and blinded them. Link felt himself get picked off the ground by the front of his jacket and get slammed against the wall. All he could see was an incoming fist and he raised up his arms in front of his fave in an attempt to block the blow.

“Stop!” he could hear Zelda shout.

“Wait... You guys?!”

Link opened his eyes to see no other than Urbosa with her fist only inches away from his face.

She immediately let him go. “Gods Link, I could have killed you!”

Link just looked up at her and sorta shrugged. 

“Urbosa, what are you doing here?” Zelda asked.

“Same reason you’re here, I’m assuming.” she answered.

“Really?” Sidon asked.

“What, you think I’d just leave a kidnapped girl to get experimented on?” she said. “Of course I was going to go find her for you. I found the pipe that you mentioned and figured if I followed it I’d make it to the right place eventually. I was planning to get it all done while you guys were asleep back at the trailer but I guess I should have known you kids would try to do it yourselves.”

“How did you get in?” Zelda asked. 

“Used a tree to jump over the fence, knocked a guard out, and stole his keys. Simple really.” she explained.

“Wow uh...” said Link. “Daruk just sorta tore the gate open and Revali crashed into a window so hard that it loosened it up so we could open it.”

“Oh no, you mean those two are here also?” said Urbosa.

“It’s um... It’s a long story. They’re out keeping watch as we speak. They seem like they can handle guards if they see any.”

“I sure hope so.” Said Urbosa. “Oh, by the way, it’s room A-20. I broke into the file archive here and found out where she was being held.” 

“Wow! You’re amazing!” said Sidon.

“The doors are locked, you wouldn’t happen to have stolen the key to A-20 as well have you?” asked Zelda.

“Gotcha’ covered.” Urbosa said as she dangled the keys in front of her. 

The five of them walked up to the correct door. Urbosa inserted the key into the lock and was just about to turn it when...

CRASH!

“CAW CAAAAAAAAW!!!!”

They looked down the hallway to see Daruk bursting through the wall from the outside with Revali. The sound of dogs barking and men yelling could be heard. Then the ear-piercing sound of the alarm went off and Zelda had to cover her ears to block the deafening noise. 

“Well shit.” Said Urbosa “So much for stealth I guess. Okay, we have to do this as fast as possible.” She quickly unlocked the door and rushed everyone inside. 

When they entered the room, the siren could still be heard but it was now muffled enough for Zelda to be able to uncover her ears.  
In the room there was a huge tank. Link could see her, curled up in the corner. She had grown up a lot since he last saw her but he could still tell it was her from first glance.  
Sidon ran up to the tank and started banging on the glass. As soon as Mipha saw him she swam up to meet him. Sidon began to sob as he tried clawing at the glass in vain. Urbosa ran up to her, which made Mipha move back a little. 

“We’re here to get you out!” she said loudly, hoping that the girl could hear her. 

Mipha was still timid and moved back again.

Then Link came forward. He didn’t say a word, but he caught Mipha’s attention. Their eyes locked, and her body became less tense. She moved up closer, and so did Link. 

Link started to speak softly. “You... You may not remember me but...” 

“Lakyn...”

Link’s ears perked up at the sound of her soft voice. “Y-You remember me?” 

“CRASH!”

Daruk and Revali bursted through the wall. 

“Oh no, why did you two have to come in here?!” shouted Zelda, covering her ears again to block out the alarm’s noise.

“Well apparently SOMEONE” Revali looked over at Daruk. “Is afraid of DOGS.”

Then they heard, “STOP RIGHT THERE!” and about 20 guards ran in.

Mipha swam back in fear. Sidon attempted to run up and fight them but Link held him back. 

“What are we going to do now?!” Zelda said in panic. 

More guards ran in, these ones with dogs. They growled and barked, which immediately sent Daruk into full panic mode. Without thinking, he rolled in the opposite direction and crashed right into the tank, which made the whole thing shake.  
Then, there was the a loud cracking sound. Everyone went dead quiet, even the dogs. There was another crack, some of the guards turned to run. Then another.

Link looked up at the tank to see a large white jagged line creeping up to the top. “Guys, We should probably...”

“Run!” Zelda shouted.”

Everyone tried to escape, but it was too late. The next thing the heard was a loud shatter, and before they knew it, they were swept off their feet as water rushed everywhere. They all floated off in different directions.

“I can’t- I can’t swim! Help!” Zelda cried out. 

Link tried his hardest to get to her. He reached out and was almost able to grab her hand before the current swept her under.  
Zelda was in such a state of panic that she could barely move.

“This is it, this is how I’m going to die.” she thought.

But then she felt something grab her and pull her to the surface. Her mind was too scrambled to tell what was going on.  
Then the next thing she could process was being on the ground outside. She opened her eyes and could see the clear blue daytime sky. 

“Did I pass out?” she thought. 

“Oh good! You’re awake.” She hear a soft voice say.

She sat up and saw a red Zora who looked somewhat like Sidon but was female and closer to her age. 

“You...” she said. “You saved my life...”

“Well you were one of the people who rescued me. The least I could do is return the favor.” Mipha said with a smile.

Zelda took a look at her surroundings. “Where are we?” she asked.

“Last night I tried to get us as far away from the building as possible. I’m... not really sure...” Mipha explained.

“Well we should start looking for the others then.” said Zelda.

“Oh, I already found one! He’s still asleep though.” said Mipha.

“Uuuuugh.” Zelda could hear a voice moan. 

She turned around to see Revali passed out under a tree. 

She nudged him. “Revali!” 

“Uuugh, five more minuets mom...”

She nudged him again, harder this time. “Revali!”

His green eyes slowly opened. “Eh?”

He looked up to see the two girls staring down at him. He quickly stood up embarrassed. 

“Wh-Where are w-“ He stopped. He held up his left wing. He moved it around. “There’s... There’s no pain! It’s all healed!” He said in astonishment. 

“I noticed that your wing was broken and healed it while you were sleeping.” said Mipha. 

“You did this? Thank you! Most impressive!” It was odd to see him actually complement someone. 

“You don’t suppose you could fly up and see if you could spot the others?” she asked.

“It should be no problem.” said Revali. He stepped out from under the tree into a clear space. “Oh how I’ve been waiting to do this again!”  
He then launched himself high up into the air. The strong gust of wind he created almost pushed the girls back. He looked down at them. “My eyesight is sharper than an iron sword! I’ll spot them in no time at all!”

He flew off into the distance, leaving the two young girls behind. 

“Well I guess we’ll just have to wait until he comes back.” said Zelda. She turned to the zora girl. “You’re name is Mipha right?

Mipha nodded. 

“I’m Zelda. Our rito friend is Revali. That gerudo women you saw last night was Urbosa, and the goron who broke your tank was Daruk.”

“Remind me to thank them.” said Mipha with a smile.

“I hear you already know my other friend, Link.” said Zelda.

“Link?” Mipha didn’t recognize the name.

“Oh, that’s right. You know him as Lakyn. He goes by Link now.”

“Oh... Wait, he?” Mipha was confused again. “Well... I guess that explains why she- I mean he changed his name then... Probably should have expected it honestly, he’d only ever wanted to play as boy characters when we played pretend as young children.”

Now Zelda was confused. “Wait, are you saying that he’s... Is Link transgender?”

“Oh no, you mean he didn’t tell you? Oh gosh, I shouldn’t have said anything then... He was probably keeping it a secret.” 

“Well that explains a few things, I guess just never thought...” 

“I really hope that he doesn’t get mad at me!” said Mipha. “I feel so guilty now.”

“I’ll just pretend I don’t know.” said Zelda. “Besides, it’s not like I see him any different. He’s still the same friend as before after all.” 

“How do you know him?” asked Mipha.

“Met him at school when we were paired up for a science project. We befriended each other after that.” said Zelda.

“What is he like now?” Mipha asked.

“Well... He’s very shy, but very sweet and friendly once you get to know him. He has a bad habit of not thinking enough about his own well being though. He cares a lot more about other people than he does for himself.” Zelda described. 

“That mostly sounds like him,” said Mipha. “but I don’t remember him being shy. I remember him to be very extroverted. I wonder what could have happened to him to change him that much?”

Zelda knew the answer to that, but didn’t say anything. 

“Tell me, does he still eat like a pig?” Mipha asked in a humorous tone.

“Oh, yes, definitely. I’ve never seen anyone consume as much food as that boy does.”

“Well, maybe he hasn’t changed that much after all.” Mipha said with a laugh. 

“I take it you two were quite close.” said Zelda.

“Oh yes, we did everything together. We met when we were only four years old.” replied Mipha.

“How did you recognize him after not seeing him for so long?” Zelda asked.

“I could just... sense it I guess?” said Mipha. “I think it was the look in his eyes. So strong yet so gentile.” 

“Yea, I know exactly what you mean...” said Zelda. Her cheeks turning pink with a light blush. 

The cry of an eagle could be heard from above. The girls looked up and could see Revali soaring in the sky. 

“This way!” they heard him call out.

“Zelda!”

They looked up ahead and saw the rest of the gang running to meet them.  
Zelda ran into Link’s arms and they held each other tight.

“I thought I lost you!” she could hear his voice shaking. 

Sidon ran into Mipha’s arms and she picked him up and held him. He couldn’t say anything because he was sobbing uncontrollably.

“I’m right here little one. We’re safe now...” 

With Revali’s help, they found their way back to the trailer, Sidon telling his sister about his whole adventure from the previous day, and how his new friends helped him. They didn’t linger around the hotel for long out of fear that the people who were holding Mipha and Sidon captive may have been looking for them.  
Urbosa stopped at public trailer park and and went right to bed. Everyone was completely exhausted. Mipha took the bottom bunk up with Sidon leaving no more room for the adults, so Urbosa took out some sleeping bags and set them on the floor for her and Revali. She was expecting him to complain, but he was just too tired. They had all gone through quite the eventful night to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: so I know Zoras age a lot more slowly than hylians do in BOTW, but to keep it more simple Mipha and Link grew up at the same rate in this AU, just like how Link and Ruto rew up at the same rate in OOT.


	14. Chapter 14

Dorian had just put his children to bed, and was getting ready to get to sleep himself. He lay down in bed, and it didn’t feel quite right. It hadn’t for the past year and a half. He still wasn’t used to not hearing his wife’s soft breathing, or feeling the warmth of her body next to his. But he knew very well that things would never be the same, as much as it still hurt. The loneliness was painful yes, but he still stayed strong for his two girls. The were hurting just as much as he was, if not worse, and they needed their father to be there for them. But it was hard. He was now a single parent and needed to work longer shifts in order to provide for two children. He didn’t have much time to spend with them anymore.  
Just as his eyes shut, a loud ringing jolted him back awake. He grabbed his phone and answered.

He heard Chief Kohga’s voice speaking on the other end. He sounded panicked. “Dorian! You have to get to the station! We have a situation!”

“Now?” Dorian asked annoyed. “But there’s no one to watch my kids! I can’t hire a babysitter at this hour!” 

“Just leave em’. I’m sure they can take care of themselves for a few hours.” said Kohga.

“They’re 8 years old, I can’t just leave them!” Dorian protested.

“If you want to keep your job you can.” was Kohga’s snarky reply.

“Alright fine” Dorian finally gave in. “I’ll see if my neighbors can watch them. Give me about 20 minutes and I’ll be there.”

He hung up and dialed his neighbor’s number. 

“Dorian? Why are you calling so late?” the voice on the other side asked.

“I’m really sorry to bother you Cado, but would you mind watching Cottla and Koko for a few hours? My jackass boss just called me in to work.” Dorian explained. 

“Oh man. Alright. You can bring them over if you want.” said Cado. 

After he hung up he put on his uniform went to go wake up the girls and dropped them off at Cado’s house. He drove to the police station still very annoyed at his boss.  
When he walked into the office he saw something unusual. Strange men in suits were all over the office. They gave Dorian a bad feeling.  
Then Kohga popped out from nowhere and made him jump.

“Finally your here!” he said. “There’s these government officials who want to talk to you. It’s about those two teenagers that ran away.” 

“Wait, what?!” Dorian didn’t quite understand. 

Kohga brought him into his office where one of the men in suits was waiting at his desk.

“Um... hello...” Dorian greeted the man nervously. 

“Hello officer Dorian. Please have a seat.” said the man.

Dorian sat down in the chair in front of him. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, sir, who are you?” Dorian asked.

“My name is not important.” the man said. “All you need to know is that I was sent here by my superior to ask you a few questions.”

“Oh, well um, I heard you wanted to ask about those teenagers? Did they do something illegal?” Dorian asked.

“They took part in breaking into a government building and stealing a valuable asset, as well as cause millions of dollars in property damage.”

Dorian was shocked. “Woah, wait WHAT?” 

“Sheesh, kids these days! Back when I was a teenager all we did was steal booze and spray paint dicks on buildings.” Kohga said chewing on a banana. 

“Wait, wait, wait.” said Dorian as he tried to process what he had just heard. “Back up a little. Why and how did two teenage kids break into a high security government building?”

“The reason why is not fully known, but we do know that they were not alone.” said the man. “There were three adults with them as well.”

“Three adults!?” Dorian was even more confused now.

The man pulled out a few photos that were taken by the security camera at the building the runaway teenagers had apparently broken into. In the photos there were the two teens, a gerudo woman, a rito man, and a goron.

“Looks like we might be dealing with a kidnapping situation here!” Kohga said still eating his banana. “Things just keep getting more and more interesting don’t they!” 

“Oh man...” Dorian placed his palm on his forehead. “I’m going to have to tell their parents about this!”

“Actually, we must request that you do not notify the families of the break in. You may however notify them of the kidnapping.” said the man.

“Well I suppose that’s... a little bit better?” said Dorian.

“Now, if we could please get to the questions.” 

“Oh yes of course, my apologies sir.”

The man interviewed Dorian about what he knew about the two teenage runaways. He gave as much information as he could, including the suspected child abuse case with Link. Whenever he answered a question the man only wrote on in his notebook, not making a single expression.

Then he asked the final question. “Do you recognize anyone in the photos I have showed you?”

Dorian picked them up off the desk and gave them each a good long look.

“No, I can’t say I have. Sorry.” He said.

“Wait a second.” Kohga spoke up as he was peeling his third banana. “I know that woman!” He pointed to the gerudo.

“Please elaborate.” said the man.

“Her name is Urbosa. We know each other but er... We’ve never exactly gotten along.” Kohga explained. “Got into a bar fight with her a few years back. Gave me a nasty black eye, to be honest it was kinda hot.” 

“Do you know any other information on this woman.” asked the man.

“All I know is that she works as a councilor at our local high school.” said Kohga.

“The local high school? That means she easily could have known those kids!” said Dorian.

“I think we should work together and dig up more information on this woman and her relationship with the two teenagers. It would make it easier to track them down.” said the man. “We shall continue this tomorrow. It is late and I am certain you want to get home.” 

“First may I ask a question?” said Dorian.

“You may, but depending on what it is I may not be able to answer it.”

“How much trouble are those kids going to get into?” Dorian asked with worry in his voice. “I... I promised the 16 year old girl’s father that she would come home safely. And the other kid has had it really rough at it is already.”

“They will most likely be returned to their families after serving only minor time. It is mainly the adults who we are after.” said the man.

Dorian let out a mini sigh of relief.  
He sat up and shook the man’s hand. Then all three men left the office. Dorian just wanted to go home, but as he headed towards the door of the station he spotted a woman waiting at the front. Everyone else seemed to busy to help her and he felt bad, so he figured he might as well see what she needed. 

“Hello, I’m Officer Dorian. I apologize for the wait, it's been kind of a hectic night. How may I help you?”

“Oh hello! You can call me Purrah.” said the woman in a chipper voice. “I’m with child protective services and I’ve come with information on one of the missing children. I’m sorry I had to come in person, I tried to call but nobody would answer. Probably because it’s so busy in here.” 

“I can help you. I’m the one who contacted Impa.” said Dorian.

“Ah, that’s my little sister! So you’re just the person I’m looking for, great!” Purrah said cheerfully.

They both sat down at Dorian’s desk and Purrah gave him the details.

“Sooo, we managed to contact Lakyn’s mother!” Said Purrah.

“That’s great!” said Dorian pleased to finally hear some good news. “Takes a lot of work off our hands!”

“Buuut...” Purrah added.

“Uh oh. What is it now?”

“If the suspected child abuse case turns out to be true, she says she can’t take her child in. Lakyn, or Link? Will have to be placed in a foster home.” Purrah explained.

“Oh... That’s very unfortunate...” said Dorian with a glum look on his face.

“And there’s something else.”

“Oh please let it be good news” Dorian thought silently to himself.

“The father... it seems he’s had a change of heart. He wants his child back and intends to fight against any charges of child abuse.” said Purrah.

Dorian did not like the sound of this. From the information he had gathered so far, he did not trust that man to continue raising a child. 

“I see...” was all that he said. 

“Well, that’s all I have for now.” said Purrah. “I’ll leave you with the mother’s contact information.”

She handed him a folder which contained the contact info. 

“Oh, you should probably know about the-“

“Yea, someone already told us about the whole possible kidnapping case.” said Purrah.” Personally I think those kids went with whoever those adults were by their own terms, rather than being forced against their will, but I’m not a detective so I can’t say for sure.”

“Well, at least it’s a good thing that you already know.” said Dorian.

“Good luck officer Dorian!” she said to him as she reached out to shake his hand.

He took her hand and shook it. “As to you Ms. Purrah.”

After she left Dorian let out a deep sigh. He was so ready to go home. But then looked at the folder she gave him and then remembered, he needed to call those kids’ parents, and it wouldn’t be right to wait till the next day to do it. They had the right to know what was going on with their kids.  
He rubbed his temples. This was not going to be easy. He picked up his phone and dialed Rhoam’s number first. He picked up almost right away.

“Yes? Did you find her?” he asked frantically.

“I’m sorry sir but, there’s been a situation. It’s possible that your daughter and the other missing child may have been kidnapped. Although most likely not against her will, she was seen with three strange adu-“ 

He couldn’t even finish what he was saying before he flinched away from his phone due to the unexpected and very loud yelling coming from the other end of the line. He couldn’t even make out half of what Rhoam was saying, and what he could make out were demands like “GET EVERY DETECTIVE ON THE CASE!” and “SEND A SWAT TEAM!”  
Some of the other officers and even the government agents took notice of all the commotion coming from the other side of the phone and turned to look at Dorian, which made him wish he could turn invisible.

“DO YOU HEAR ME? YOU BETTER FIND HER OR ELSE I’LL MAKE SURE NONE OF YOU EVER HAVE A JOB IN THIS TOWN AGAIN!”

“Y-Yes sir! We’ll find her sir!” Dorian said, startled.

Then the phone hung up, and there was an awkward silence throughout the office. Tough luckily it didn’t last long before everyone got back to work.

Dorian sighed and cupped his hand in his face. He stayed like that for a few minutes before dialing the next number. He figured he might as well get Link’s father out of the way.

The phone picked up and Dorian heard the voice of Link’s father on the other side of the line. “You find my daughter yet?”

Dorian was taken back for a moment. The man sounded much more soft spoken then he had imagined. He expected him to sound more angry, but maybe that was only because he had just gotten finished talking to Zelda’s father. 

“Mr. Kearney, I am sorry to say that we do not have Li-er, Lakyn yet at this moment. I have actually called you to inform you of something that has happened. Your daughter, along with the other missing girl, has been spotted with three adults. We are afraid that this may have now turned into a kidnapping case.” Dorian explained. 

“Kidnapping? Hah!”

Dorian did not expect that response. It was the complete opposite of Rhoam’s reaction. 

“Y-You’re not worried?” asked Dorian surprised, as well as a bit offended.

“Lakyn is an extremely clever young woman.” said Link’s father “There’s no way someone would be able to just grab her and take her. She knows how to fight back. Even before I started teaching her how to defend herself, she could already pack quite a punch. No, she’s most likely sticking around those adults for a reason. Most likely for recourses such as food and money. I’m not worried about her getting hurt by them at all. She can take care of herself she gets into trouble. Just make sure you get her back, that’s all I am concerned about.”

“Still... this is a concern to us.” said Dorian.

“Understandable. You’re just doing your job and I can respect that.” said the man.

“I would also like to ask a few questions.” Dorian figured he should just get this out of the way while he’s at it. “To help us with finding Lakyn, we could use some information.”

“I am willing to cooperate.” said Link’s father.

Dorian asked his first question. “You are aware of the suspected a abuse case, is this correct?”

The man did not answer at first.

“Mr. Kearney?” Dorian asked after a half a minute of silence.

He finally answered. “Yes, I am aware. But I deny the accusations. I know this has been brought up before in the past, but back then my daughter was a lot more sensitive and easily frightened. She viewed my actions as much worse than they actually were. I’m strict, yes. And I may even seem harsh, but I never...” he paused for brief moment. “I never did anything that serious. But I will say this, we are from a military family, and we do believe in corporal punishment. And... there has been somewhat of a history of abuse in the past. My mother, the one who trained me, was far more cruel to me than I ever was to Lakyn. I refused to raise my own child in that exact same manner. However like I said, in the past Lakyn was much more sensitive. She didn’t see how much kinder I was than her grandmother. Honestly, I blame my ex wife for it. If she had just let me start training her sooner she would have gotten used to my strict discipline earlier. And I also partially blame myself for not putting my foot down earlier.”

There were so many red flags in what this guy was saying. Dorian was almost certain he would not be getting that kid back. But he needed to be professional so he continued on with his next question.

“Do you have any idea for a reason why Lakyn may have run away?”

The man was silent again of another moment. “We’ve had a few... disagreements recently. And I will admit, I do sometimes let my anger get the better of me when she does something I don’t like. She was really pissing me off and there were times where I may have, for the lack of a better term, exploded. It’s actually not usual for me to get that angry, but lately it’s just been harder to contain my emotions. I’m willing to admit that now. It’s not a good habit I have and I do intend to stop it. I got angry when she left too... But after a few days I realized how much different it is without her. I may not be the most affectionate father. I prefer not to express my feelings outwardly too often as it is unprofessional. But... I do need her... That’s why I changed my mind.”

“You think that may be why she ran away?”

“Partially, but not the entirely.” said the man. “Lakyn is tough. She can take far more than even I could at her age. She may have been sensitive when she was younger but as she’s matured most things seem to not phase her. She doesn’t let things get to her anymore, that I am proud of. However... There’s a rule she went against and I think that’s what did it. I should have nipped it in the bud as soon as I noticed it happening but I regretfully chose to let it pass on it’s own, which it didn’t.”

“What do you mean?” asked Dorian.

“I’m pretty sure she was dating someone behind my back. She knew she was not allowed to date, it’s too much of a distraction. But I foolishly let it happen, figuring it was just a phase. I was sneaky like that too back in high school, but my relationships never lasted for more than a few months. I thought that would also be the case with Lakyn, but I thought wrong.”

“Are you talking about Zelda, the other missing girl?”

“Most likely I assume. I however did not know who she was, or that she was even another girl until she was reported missing along with Lakyn. I’ve seen that girl before, and I’ve met her father before. From what he told me about her she’s very mature and discipline. I would never guessed that she would be the one that Lakyn was seeing.”

“How do you know that they were seeing each other?” 

“Simple. A few months back Lakyn said she was going to be a little bit late for the next few days because she needed to work on a science project with a partner. She was telling the truth, but then she kept being late after the project had already been turned in. When questioned about it she’d always come up with an obviously fake excuse, or try to avoid answering at all. She also became less focused and seemed more distracted than usual. I started suspecting something until for me it was confirmed on the night of the incident, when I found out that she snuck out to go to prom. Now I don’t know of anyone she’s hanged out with aside from that girl, and they both just so happened to run away together. What I think caused Lakyn to run off is that girl. She caused her to let her emotions take control. My guess is that Zelda may have already been planning to run away, and then convinced Lakyn to join her after that big fight we had on the night of the incident. If it weren’t for her my daughter would have stayed, that’s for sure. I’m willing to bet that she was even the one who reported the alleged child abuse, which I did not commit. Honestly, I’m more worried about her keeping my daughter from coming back home than I’m worried about those adults. Lakyn can defend herself physically just fine, but she’s always had a problem with emotional attachment. She still hasn’t even gotten over her mother leaving for Hylia’s sake! I’m honestly angry with myself for not seeing this coming. Like I said, should have nipped it in the bud.” 

As much as Dorian didn’t like this guy, this was useful information. “thank you Mr. Kearney. We could certainly put this info to good use.”

“Anything else you need?” Link’s father asked.

“Yes, one more question. Does Lakyn happen to have a history of mental illness?” 

“As much as I hate to say it, yes.” replied Link’s father. “She developed selective mutism when she was around eleven or twelve. It’s never caused her to act irrationally though. The worst it’s caused is making communication with her more difficult.”

“Is that all?” asked Dorian. 

He heard a deep sigh come from the other end of the line. “There’s this... other problem she has. She thinks she’s a boy. I know, it’s odd. It started when she was around five years old. At first her mother and I had assumed it was a character she made up and she was only playing pretend, as children do. But then it wouldn’t stop. Her mother insisted we take her to a child psychologist and we did. After a while it seemed to work, and that’s what I believed up until recently. But a few months ago I needed to borrow her computer and when I used it I discovered several tabs she had left open with information on things like breast removal surgery and hormone therapy. I was... very displeased to say the least.”

“I er... I’m not sure that counts as a mental illness... But I’ll keep note of it anyways.” said Dorian, a feeling awkward, as well as a little bit angry.

“Well it’s sure as hell not normal, so as far as I’m concerned it is a mental health issue! I don’t know what could have possibly caused it though.” 

“You think... this may have happened because you wouldn’t except your child’s chosen identity?” Dorian asked, knowing it was a risky question.

“Look, I know my kid has problems. But they aren’t going to be fixed by letting her indulge in them and making them worse. She just needs to be whipped back up into shape. I don’t want her self-mutilating or ending up spending a lot of money on surgeries and medications to become something she’s not. I may be harsh but I’m sure as hell not going to let her hurt herself, even if I have to be mean about it!” His tone was getting more angry. 

That didn’t really answer Dorian’s question, but he moved on anyways. “Is there anything else?”

“Um... yes...” Link’s father continued. “But I’m only willing to share it with you because it’s my obligation. Aside from right now this information has never left the family and I would prefer that you do not make it public.”

“You don’t have to worry about that sir. We only need to know this for your child’s safety, and unless it becomes a serious enough issue we will keep it private.” Dorian assured him.

“She...” he sighed. “When she was 15 years old she attempted suicide. She snuck out one night and I caught her ready to jump off a bridge.”

“How did you react to this?”

“I... I got angry. But I was scared mostly. But that time has since passed. She hasn’t attempted since then.”

“How do you know she hasn’t at least contemplated another attempt since then?”

There was no reply.

“Sir, I’m sorry, but we are going to have to take this into serious consideration. It sounds like your child may have severe psychological issues and if we’re not careful something bad could happen.”

He finally responded. “Lakyn is strong. She’s grown since then and it has not been a problem since.”

Dorian tried not to let out a deeply frustrated sigh. This teenager was clearly troubled to the point where he may be a danger to himself but his father seemed to be reluctant to address it properly. Probably because it was his fault to begin with. And the only reason he considered his child being transgender a “problem” was probably because he found someone else to mostly blame for it. The man also seemed to have problems with managing anger. Dorian was tempted to suggest that the father maybe the one who needs therapy, but he knew better and only stuck to protocol. 

“Legally it is our obligation to take something like this into consideration.” said Dorian, hiding his frustration and annoyance.

“Fine, do whatever you need to.” was all he said. 

“Well those are all the questions I needed to ask. We will continue to look for your child until we find her.” He then hung up without saying another word, not caring if it was rude.

He wanted nothing more than to just go home. But he had one more phone call to make. Hopefully this one wouldn’t be as unbearable to listen to.  
After taking a minute to compose himself, he punched in the numbers of Link’s mother. He hoped he could get this over with quickly. 

She took a bit longer than the other two parents to pick up the phone. 

“Who is this? It’s terribly late!”

“Hello this is the police department calling. You are the mother of Lakyn Kearney correct?” said Dorian.

“Oh... yes. I am...” the woman replied.

“I’m calling to notify you that your child has been spotted with three strange adults, along with the other missing girl. This may be a case of kidnapping, but it’s likely that your daughter was not forced against her will.”

“Oh... Oh no. I’ll do anything I can to help!” She sounded much more worried than Link’s father, but at the same time not as worried as one would expect a parent to be upon hearing that their child may have been kidnapped. She sounded more like someone who had heard that someone else’s child had gone missing, rather than her own.

Dorian didn’t feel like wasting any time to get to the questions. “Ma’m, I know that you aren’t close with Lakyn, but can you still offer us any information on why she may have ran away?”

“I’m sorry, but I haven’t seen her since she was 7 years old. I don’t know about any recent events that could have caused her to do this.” The woman replied.

“I was also notified by the father that your child has a history of mental health issues. Including a suicide attempt when she was 15. Do you know anything about this?”

“What?!” He could hear her shout into the phone. “Suicide attempt?! Gods in heaven!”

“Sheesh. She really knows THIS little about her own kid? She must have had no contact with her ex husband and child after the divorce whatsoever.” Dorian thought to himself before continuing. “So I take it you know nothing about this?”

“No! Good gods what has that cursed man been doing to her?!”

A red flag went up in Dorian’s mind. “Excuse me, what? Are you talking about the father?”

She didn’t answer at first.

“Ma’m, does the father have a history of abusing the child?”

“No, it’s just...” she began. “Well, from what I remember he never hit her aside from corporal punishment, and she never seemed terribly fearful of him either. Only when she misbehaved and knew she was going to get punished, but that’s what all children do isn’t it?”

“Is that all?” asked Dorian.”

The woman let out a sigh. “To be honest I was never a fan of the corporal punishment. I even read somewhere that it’s actually very unhealthy for your child. But still... that wasn’t the thing that had most concerned me.”

Dorian listened intently. “Go on.”

“See, my ex husband is from a strict military family. It’s their tradition for each generation to join the military. The’ve apparently been doing it for hundreds of years. Anyways, he kept talking about how he was going to “train” Lakyn to be a solider. It made me very uncomfortable. He also had issues with anger, which is part of the reason I left him. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had a part in her wanting to run away honestly, now that I think of it.

“Wait so... You knowingly left a child with someone you suspected could turn abusive? Instead of taking the child with you?” Dorian knew that he stepped out of line a bit there, but had already had it with these parents. 

“I couldn’t take care of her... I wouldn’t have been much better at raising her really. I was so young when I married him. I was just out of high school, he was my dreamy knight in shining armor. Older than me but I didn’t care. But then the next thing I knew I was 19 and pregnant. I was not ready for a child. I did not want one, and I couldn’t handle the stress. She was so hyper and hard to control and I would just snap and yell sometimes, whereas her father knew how to get her to behave. I never hated Lakyn I just... I never felt close. I never felt that unbreakable bond that a mother is supposed to feel for her child. I felt like I was stuck in this awful relationship that I had rushed into, and I was taking care of HIS child, not my own. She had always been a reminder of the situation I was in, and that caused me to resent her a bit, even though none of it was her fault. And my husband, gods... He was just so difficult to to live with. He was always angry with me about something, always blaming everything on me. As well as... other issues I’d rather not get into right now... In the end I just couldn’t take it and I had to leave. But I had no support system and I knew that I would be struggling for a long time. I couldn’t take Lakyn with me. I could barely take care of a child even before my divorce, and I certainly wouldn’t have been able to after. But my husband was so much more financially secure, he could take care of her better than I ever could. I just hope... I hope that he hasn’t been treating her too harshly...”

“I see...” said Dorian.

there was a moment of silence before she spoke again. “I knew this would happen... I knew my past would eventually catch up with me, as much I spent all these years trying to forget it. But, I’ll do what I can to help. It’s the least I owe her. If you give me her number maybe I can... Maybe I can call her... Perhaps I could persuade her to come back. Although I never felt as close to her as I should have, I knew she loved and trusted me. I could see it in those big blue eyes of hers. I don’t know if she still does though. Hell, she may even hate me for leaving, but I might as well try at least.”

“Yes! That would be very helpful! Thank you!” finally some good news.

Dorian gave the woman her child’s phone number in hopes that this would work. They then said their goodbyes and as soon as Dorian set down the phone he quickly made his way to the door, making sure to stay out of Kohga’s sight, worrying that if spotted he may be demanded to do something else.  
He was successfully able to make it out the door and to his car without being spotted. He would have to pick up his twins from Cado’s in the morning, because he did not want to wake them up again this late in the night. He wanted to see them right away though. He wanted to hold them and tell them he loved them with all his heart, and that he would never let anyone hurt them, ever.


	15. Chapter 15

Link patiently held still as Mipha was healing the bruises that were still left from prom night.

“Done.” she said as she removed her webbed hand from his face. “Anywhere else?”

“I think you got all of them. Thanks, I really appreciate it.” He replied. 

“So...” 

“...yea?”

Mipha crossed her arms. “You said you’d tell me later. Now is later.”

“Uh...” Link shifted uncomfortably. “I er...” he started nervously fiddling with his earring. “And you promise you wont mention this to Daruk or Revali right?”

“Yes Link, I promised.” said Mipha.

“Okay, well, I um... I ran away from home...”

“You ran away? Why?” asked Mipha.

“You remember my dad right? Well, he’s not like he used to be...” Link tugged on his earring a little harder. “He hurt me... Real bad.”

“Oh, oh my gosh.” Mipha gently placed her hands on his cheeks. “Was he the one who gave you those bruises?”

Link silently nodded yes. He then saw a glint of anger in her eyes.

“How dare he! How dare anyone hurt you!” She wrapped her arms around him in a protective hug. She was squeezing a little too tightly though.

“Mipha, claws!”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” She said as she let go of him.

“It’s fine.” Link said with a soft smile.

“I would have never imagined that your father do something like that, I remember you two getting along... Your grandmother on the other hand, now she was frightening.” said Mipha.

“Oh yea, that woman terrified me.” said Link. “Must be where Pops got his dazzling personality from, I really wouldn’t be surprised. She died a few years ago though.”

“I’m so sorry this happened to you, I wish I could have done something!” said Mipha. 

“It’s not your fault Mipha. There was nothing you could do. But it’s okay! I’m alright now! Urbosa has been really good to me! I don’t feel like I’m in any danger here.” said Link.

“That’s good but...” Mipha looked at her friend with worry. “What’s your plan? Where are you going to go from here?”

“I guess I’ll just have to lay low until I turn 18.” said Link. “Then maybe I can scrounge up enough money to find a place to live. Maybe I can be roommates with Zelda.”

“How long will that be?” asked Mipha. 

“I turned 17 barely a month ago, so almost a year from now.” replied Link.

“Well when that happens, and after me and Sidon find our father, I’m sure he’ll be more than enough welcome to letting you stay with us for a while, and Zelda as well!” said Mipha.

“Wow, really? That’s awesome! Thank you!” Link leaned in to hug her. 

Mipha’s cheeks turned pink at the sign of affection. “It’s no problem Link. I’ll do anything I can to help you my friend.”

A soft yawn came out from the bunk above them, followed by the rustling of sheets. 

“Link? Where are you?” they could hear Zelda’s voice speak.

“Down here. I was just catching up with Mipha.” said Link.

Zelda’s head peeped over the top bunk to look at them. Her eyes were still half closed asleep and her hair was a mess. Link smiled and had to hold back a giggle, she looked so cute.

“Oh, good morning.” she said sleepily. 

“Good morning!” said Mipha. 

“Hey.” said Link.

“Is breakfast ready?” Zelda mumbled.

“Sorry, we’re the only ones awake right now.” replied Link.

“I’m going back to sleep then.” she said as she yawned. “I’ll see you later.”

Link smiled and waved a little goodbye. “Bye, see you later Zelda.”

“I’m still tired too.” said Mipha. “Mind if I go back to sleep for a while?”

“Sure, I don’t mind. I’m still pretty tired myself.” said Link.

Mipha crawled back under the covers next to Sidon, who was still asleep.

“I’ll see you at breakfast” she said.

Link climbed back up to his bunk and lay next to Zelda. Truthfully, he wasn’t actually tired. He still had some adrenaline going from the previous night. He turned to look at Zelda, she was already fast asleep, looking so peaceful.  
His heart fluttered at the sight of her. Some light shone threw the window by their heads on to her yellow hair, making it remind him of sunshine.

“Yea, her hair is the color of sunshine.” Link thought to himself. 

He saw her eyes twitch open and he quickly shut his, hoping that she didn’t notice him looking. Then, a few seconds later, he felt her nestle up close to him. He didn’t move a muscle. She must have thought he was asleep. His heart was pounding in chest so hard he was afraid she might hear it. He knew his face and ears must have been bright red as well. Hopefully her eyes were closed so she wouldn’t see. He was almost tempted to hold her, but he resisted, not wanting to make things too awkward. He still wasn’t used to physical affection, but he liked it a lot when it came from her, even though he didn’t always know how to show it himself very well, he did try to when he could. He wanted to be her’s so badly, but he wasn’t even sure if she felt the same way. He remembered what she said on the night Urbosa found them. She loved him, but only as a friend. Besides, he was way too nervous to tell her how he really felt anyways. He was still grateful to have her as a close friend, but he couldn’t help but feel pain in his heart. He had never truly felt this way about someone before, and the more time they spent together the stronger his feelings grew. He craved something other than a platonic relationship. He wouldn’t dare show it though, he refused to be one of those guys who try to guilt trip their female friends in to dating them. He had always disliked boys like that. If they truly loved their friends then they would consider how they feel and wouldn’t try to manipulate them into getting what they want. Link loved Zelda more than anything, and if she didn’t feel the same way then he was just going to force himself to deal with it, no matter how painful it was. 

He felt her nestle up to him more and his heart started pounding even faster. If he wasn’t so good at holding back his emotions he would have probably started crying. He had to fight back the urge to put his arms around her. The last thing he wanted to do was make things weird. He didn’t want to repeat that one night where he held her while she was having a bad dream. Even though she said it was okay, he still wasn’t fully convinced that she was actually fine with it.

“Link?” he heard the sweet sound of her voice.

“Yea?” he responded nervously.

“You’re soft.” she said half asleep.

“What... do you mean?” he asked.

“You. You’re soft, and warm.” she mumbled.

Link blushed even harder. “Th-Thanks.” it was becoming harder for him to speak. 

Then he felt her put her arm around him and he wasn’t sure what happened next because in that moment he blacked out, luckily though without her noticing.

Hours later both of them were awoken by the trailer coming to a jolting stop that nearly sent Link flying off the top bunk

“Shit!” Urbosa shouted out loud. “No no no, this cannot be happening right now!”

“What on earth was that?!” Revali asked deeply annoyed as he picked himself off the floor from where he was thrown off the couch he was sleeping on.

Urbosa quickly got out the vehicle to check the damage. Daruk came up to the trailer wondering what was the matter.

“I hit a damn pothole and it screwed up my front tires!” she explained.

The others shuffled out of the fan to take a look at the mess for themselves. The offending pothole was deep and wide but the vehicle had thankfully not gotten stuck in it. The two front tires however were in pretty bad shape.

“Oh dear, can anyone here fix this?” Mipha asked worried. 

“Well we can’t call anybody because if we do you kids might get caught.” Said Daruk.

“Yes, and we really don’t plan on going back home anytime soon.” said Zelda without realizing that he was only referring to Mipha and Sidon.

She immediately realized her mistake and felt a panicked shiver run down her spine.

“Wait, what? Are you in trouble too or something?” Daruk asked. 

“Er, I mean...”

“I can fix it!” Urbosa cut in saving her. “But I need a new lug wrench to get it done. The one I have is broken.”

“How do you break a lug wrench?” asked Revali.

“How do you not? Those things are pretty fragile. I can never use one without it snapping.” said Daruk.

“Well Daruk, that’s because you are basically 3 ton boulder with legs.” Revali responded. 

Daruk furrowed his brow. “Hey I don’t weigh that much! I think...” 

“The tip of it got bitten off while I was fighting off a very angry bokoblin one time, but that’s not what’s important here. I need a new one.” said Urbosa.

“I remember seeing a hardware store a way’s back. Perhaps before I fly off on my own I could pick one up for you there. I’d be able to do it the fastest.” offered Revali.

“Wow that’s... really nice of you!” said Urbosa, who was genuinely surprised.

“Well, you and Mipha have helped me a great deal. It’s the least I could do in return.” said Revali.

“Wow, thanks! I lend you some money.” said Urbosa.

She gave Revali about 30 rupees and he flew off soon after.

“Well that was generous of him.” said Zelda.

“Yea, didn’t really expect that.” said Urbosa.

“Soo... what do we do now?” asked Sidon.

“Breakfast?” Link signed.

“Yea I’m hungry!” said Sidon.

Link went back inside to inspect what they had in the fridge. It was mostly snack food and cereal that was left. He had already used up all the pancake batter.  
Sidon walked up beside him and looked inside the fridge for himself. 

“Any fish?” he asked?

Link shook his head. 

“Aw, I want fish.” said Sidon, dismayed. 

“Oh, now I’m hungry for raw trout.” said Mipha. “It’s been so long since we’ve had a proper healthy meal. They did serve us fish at that place but it was never fresh and didn’t taste right. I think that’s why I’ve been having stomach pains lately.”

“Yea, me too. I want fish...” added Sidon.

“Well if you two haven’t been being fed properly then what we have certainly won’t do.” said Urbosa.

She rubbed her chin and pondered, trying to come up with a way they could get a proper meal in their current situation. 

“I could go find some rocks!” offered Daruk.

“That’s very kind of you to offer Daruk but um, we don’t eat rocks.” said Mipha.

“Oh, yea, forgot about that! Sorry.” Daruk said as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

Zelda examined her surroundings. They appeared to have stopped off in a small forested area.

“Maybe I could find some berries and mushrooms?” Zelda suggested. “I can tell which ones are edible and which ones are poisonous. We could make mushroom skewers!”

Link, who had already opened a bag of chips and started eating it, nodded his head in agreement. 

“That sounds delicious but the thing is, Zoras get all their vital nutrition from fish. We can eat other things but we can get very sick if we do it too much. And we’re already not feeling too well from the bad fish we were served.” said Mipha.

“Well then maybe there’s river with fish nearby?” said Daruk.

“I don’t think it’s such a good idea to wander around looking for a river.” said Urbosa. “Berries, mushrooms, and rocks are easier to find but it could take all day to find a river unless there’s already one close nearby.”

“That’s not a problem!” said Sidon. “I can sniff it out!” 

“You can... sniff it out?” asked Urbosa, not convinced.

“You know, he may actually be able to!” said Zelda. “Zoras have a very acute sense of smell!”

“Sidon’s is better than mine, although I suppose I’m not too terrible at it myself.” said Mipha.

“I’m gonna go find some fish!” said Sidon full of enthusiasm.

He got down on all fours and started sniffing the ground. 

“Look at me! I’m a hound dog! Bark bark”

Then he ran out the trailer and into the woods.

“Sidon! Wait!” Urbosa called after him.

“Don’t worry, i’ll keep an eye on him.” said Mipha. 

She went into the forest after her brother and Link tagged along. 

“I’ll go gather some mushrooms and berries!” said Zelda.

“I’ll go look for some tasty rocks!” said Daruk.

Then they ran off into to the woods together as well.

“I’ll just stay here by myself and watch the trailer I guess.” Urbosa said to herself and shrugged.

Link and Mipha had to move quickly in order to keep up with Sidon. For such a little kid he sure was quick. 

“Bark, bark, bark! I smell something!” he alerted them. 

“I’m starting to pick something up too!” said Mipha.

Not a long after they could hear the sound of running water. They picked up the pace and eventually came across a river. 

“Fish! I smell fish!” Sidon exclaimed with glee.

Then jumped right into the river without warning. Link’s anxiety skyrocketed when he lost sight of the little boy. He turned to look at Mipha and expected her to look just as worried, but to his surprise what he saw was an expression that was completely different.  
Her pupils were fully constricted and were locked onto the water. She was hunched down like a predator about to attack it’s prey. Link barely spotted a fish swim by and before he could even register what was happening, Mipha lunged into the water and Link had to step away from the river so he wouldn’t get wet from all the splashing she was creating. Then a few seconds after her head peaked out of the water with a big fat salmon caught in her teeth.

“Wow!” was all that Link could say. 

She took the fish out of her mouth and spoke to him. “Link, could you please go back and bring something to hold all the fish in?”

“S-Sure!” said Link.

“Oh and can you hold this for me please?” She tossed the salmon over to him and he barely caught it. He could see the deep bite marks in it that were made by Mipha’s razor sharp teeth. 

Link rushed over back to the trailer where he saw Urbosa setting up a grill.

“Hey there kid.” she greeted him.

“Hey!” he said back cheerfully.

“How’s the fishing coming along?” she asked.

“Great” he responded, holding up the fish.

“Wow, who caught that?” she asked.”

“Mipha did!” answered Link. “She’s really good at fishing!”

“Nice!” said Urbosa. “Oh by the way, I noticed that your bruises are all healed up! Mipha do that to?”

“Yea!” said Link. “Hey you don’t happen to have a cooler I could put all this fish in do you?”

“Oh sure let me go get it for you.” 

Urbosa stepped inside the trailer and came back out a few seconds later with a decently sized cooler.  
Link said thanks before taking the cooler and heading back to the fishing spot.  
When he got back Mipha was standing there with arms full of at least 9 fish. 

“Wow. You are really good at this!” Link complemented.

Mipha stared packing the fish into the cooler. “Thank you.” she said. “Zoras have natural hunting instincts.”

Sidon suddenly emerged from the water and shouted “I got one!” holding up a half-chewed up trout. 

“Sidon is still getting the hang of it though.” Mipha added with a smile. 

“So what were you able to catch?” asked Link. 

“Two salmon, five trouts, and two Hyrule bass.” Mipha replied.

“Well that’s certainly enough to go around I think.” said Link. “You wanna head back?”

“Actually, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll stay here for a while.” Said Mipha. I really need to stretch my fins after being cooped up for so long. And I’m sure Sidon does too.”

“Okay. I’ll hang out here with you then.” said Link.

Mipha dove back into the water and began to playfully swim around with her little brother. Link wished he had packed a swimsuit so he could join them. It looked fun. He sat on a log by the river and every so often he and Mipha would playfully splash at each other.  
Some time later Sidon jumped out of the river.

“I’m hungry, I’m going back.” he said as he left and took the cooler of fish with him. 

“You too?” Link asked Mipha.

“I want to stay here a bit longer with you...” she said.

“Okay.” said Link.

Mipha climbed out of the river and sat on the log next to Link.

“It’s nice here.” she said.

“Yea, it really is.” Link replied.

Mipha leaned her head on Link’s shoulder. “I’m so happy to be with you again Link, and I’m glad that even after all you’ve been through, you’re still as sweet as you used to be.”

“I’m glad to be with you again too mipha.” said Link.

Mipha blushed. She reached over for Link’s hand and held it. 

“I wish I could have been there to protect you for all those years...” she said in a somber voice. “I would have never let you get hurt.”

“There was nothing you could do about it” said Link. “And it’s all in the past now. Now I can finally be free. And I can be with you again.”

Mipha blushed even more.

“Link...”

“Yes Mipha?”

“I think...”

“What do you think?”

“I think I really like you...”

Link pulled away from her. “Wait you mean like in a... A “like like” sort of way?”

“Um...” Mipha looked at the ground. “Y-Yes...”

“Er, Mipha I... I really hate to say this but... I’m interested someone else right now. I’m sorry.” Link tried to explain.

“Oh...” said Mipha, trying to hide her disappointment but failing. “I see... I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

Link was suddenly overcome with a wave of guilt. “Hey, I’m sorry. I really am.” he said to her sincerely. 

“It’s okay, really.” said Mipha. “I’m glad you’re being honest. It’s better than having you be with me but not really liking me back.” 

Link still felt bad.

“I think we should start heading back now.” said Mipha. 

Then she got up and left without saying another word.  
On the way back they did not speak to each other. It felt like a much longer walk than it did last time. When they arrived at the trailer, the others were already back and Urbosa was grilling mushroom skewers as well as some of the fish Mipha had caught.

“You two alright? You look glum.” said Urbosa.

“We’re fine. Just tired.” said Mipha. 

“Well you’ll have plenty of time to rest up. I’ll be serving up breakfast pretty soon!” said Urbosa.

There were a few chairs set up. Mipha sat over next to Zelda and Sidon and Link sat over next to Daruk. Things were a bit too awkward between them to sit together for now. 

“Sidon and I prefer our fish raw, but I wouldn’t mind some seasoning.” Said Mipha.

“No problem! I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.” said Urbosa. “Hey, could someone turn on some music?”

Zelda turned on the trailer’s CD player.

“Look at this photograph”  
“Every time I do it makes me laugh”

“Oh gods please no.”

“Don’t worry I’ll change it.” 

Zelda took Revali’s CD out and replaced it with a different one.

What time is it?  
Summertime, it's our vacation  
What time is it?  
Party time, that's right, say it lou

“What time is it?”  
“Summertime! It's our vacation!”  
“What time is it?”  
“Party time! That's right, say it loud!”

“Is... Is that the High School Musical 2 soundtrack?” Mipha asked.

“Oh shits lit now” Link said quietly.

“Breakfast is ready!” said Urbosa.

Everyone took their serving of fish and mushrooms, with a side of berries. With the exception of Daruk, who had gathered his own breakfast which consisted of tasty rocks.  
Link gladly began to dig into his meal. He was so hungry, he could eat an octrorock! 

“Thank you very much Urbosa” Said Mipha.

“Wow Urbosa, this is really good!” complemented Zelda. “The seasoning is perfect and it’s grilled just right!”

“Aw you guys.” Urbosa said bashfully.

“Hey Link, you wanna try out some of these rocks I found? I put some salt on them.” said Daruk.

“Er, sure.” Link said to be polite

Daruk offered him a piece of rock and Link took it. He looked it for a few seconds, then he looked up at Daruk who was eagerly awaiting to hear what he thought. Link repressed a sigh and bit down. It wasn’t as hard as he expected and it actually... wasn’t that bad tasting?

“It’s not bad!” said Link with a mouth full of rock. 

The must have been some special kind of rocks. He took another. Daruk was happy to see his approval. 

The sound of flapping wings could be heard from above. Revali was back. He landed on the ground holding the new replacement for Urbosa’s lug wrench in one of his talons. 

“Hey Revali! we gathered some food from the woods for breakfast!” said Sidon.

“You mean you just picked up stuff you found in the woods? And now you’re eating it?” questioned Revali.

“Yea.” said Daruk.

“Don’t you think that’s a little unsanit-“ the rito stopped mid-sentence. “Is that salmon I smell?” 

“Yea, Mipha and Sidon went out fishing. It’s all fresh.” said Urbosa.

“Well I suppose I could stick around for a while longer.” said Revali. “After all I should eat before I go, it’s going to be a long flight back home.”

He grave Urbosa the lug wrench and grabbed his own serving. He was about to take a bite when he caught a glance of what Link was doing.

“Are you eating rocks?!” 

Link stopped chewing and swallowed. “No...” 

This made Zelda giggle. Mipha glanced at her, and saw her eyes light up when she looked at him.

“Zelda, may I ask you something?” 

“Hm? What do you need Mipha?”

“Do you um, Do you have a crush on Link?” 

Zelda’s face and ears flashed red. “W- how- N-No I don... Er, I guess I.” She could’t come up with a good cover up. She let out a deep sigh. “Maybe, a little... or maybe a lot...”

“I see...” said Mipha. “You should... You should tell him.”

“Wait, are you sure?” said Zelda. “I don’t know, what if he doesn’t feel the same way? Would he have told me yet if he did?” 

“I think he does feel the same way.” said Mipha. “He may just be too nervous to tell you.”

“You think so? The last thing I want go do is make things awkward between us.”

“Zelda, I can see he loves you. You should tell him before... before it’s too late” 

Zelda’s eyes widened a bit. “Y-You think he loves me?” 

“Well, I believe it is finally time to say farewell!” Revali announced out loud.

“Aw, we’re gonna miss you buddy!” said Daruk.

“This experience has been quite interesting, to say the least. And I thank you for all your help.” Revali continued. “But I do prefer to travel alone, it is quicker that way. Well for me anyways.”

“Try not to get mugged again!” Urbosa said to him jokingly. 

“I’m certain I wont” he said.

“Don’t you need money?” Zelda asked.

“I should be able to get home by tomorrow morning if I don’t take too many stops. I’ll take some extra fish for lunch and dinner. I don’t think I’ll be needing money.” he explained. 

“Will we ever see you again?” asked Sidon. 

“Perhaps. It is a small world when it comes down to it.”

He gathered his food in to a bag that Urbosa had offered him and lifted off the ground. Everyone waved goodbye as he soared off home. 

“We should get heading back on the road too.” said Urbosa. “I want to get as far away from that secret government facility or whatever that place was as possible.” 

“Good idea.” said Mipha.

“First we get Daruk to his kid, then we drop you two off home.” said Urbosa.

“That’s the opposite of where we’re heading now though.” Zelda observed.

“I know, and I don’t want to go back the same way we came because that means we would have to pass through where we rescued Mipha and Sidon.” said Urbosa. “We could easily get caught if we do that, so we’re actually going to have to take the longer route around.”

“But that means you’d have to circle most the country!” said Daruk. 

“Sounds like an adventure to me!” said Zelda.

Link nodded in agreement.

“Yea! let’s do it!” Said Sidon with a twinkle of confidence in his eye.

After working together to change the tires, Urbosa, Mipha, Sidon, Link, and Zelda gathered the rest of their meals and climbed back into the van and continued on their journey, with Daruk tailing behind tailing behind them as usual.

Next stop, the Kikori Foster Care Center!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapter took a little while. I was busy with school and this one was a bit longer than the previous chapters.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who’s been reading!


	16. Chapter 16

“Gosh it’s cold!” said Link has he was shivering under a blanket.

“I’d turn on the heater but I’m low on gas. Don’t worry I’ll stop at a gas station soon.” said Urbosa.

“We must be near the Hebra region.” Zelda commented.

“Yep, we’re bordering on it, but we should be out of it soon.” said Urbosa. “I had to take a bit of a detour because of traffic. I want to get out of this area as fast as I can though, Daruk is tailing long with us outside and gorons don’t do too well in the cold.”

“I’m going to bundle up under the covers with Sidon. Zoras don’t do too well in the cold either.” said Mipha.

“I’m not c-c-cold!” said Sidon through chattering teeth. 

Mipha smiled. “I’ll tell you a story under the blanket.”

Sidon hoped up onto their bed and crawled under the covers. “Come on in!” he said.

“That actually sounds like a good idea. I’m gonna bundle up in my bed.” said Link. 

He climbed up the ladder to his bunk. It was still a little cold even under the covers though.

“I think I will too.” said Zelda. “Link could probably use the extra body heat.”

Link blushed a little.

“What about you though?” she asked Urbosa.

“Oh there’s no need to worry about me. I’m a gerudo, I’m built for freezing nights and blistering hot days. I barely even notice the cold.” she answered.

“Alright then.” said Zelda.

She climbed up to the top bunk with Link and huddled close to him under the covers. It was warmer for the both of them now.

“Hey.” Link said.

“Hello.” Zelda said back.

He turned around to face towards her. 

“So... Wanna do anything?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Not much to up here other than sleep some more maybe.” said Zelda. “I brought Archimedes though!” 

She took out the small stuffed animal from her jacket’s pocket. 

“Archimedes?” Link questioned.

Zelda explained, “He’s a horse that my mother made for me when I was little. I found him again in my attic not long before prom. I’m glad I was able to keep him without my father noticing.” 

Link took the horse and pet it’s white mane. “He’s very cute!” he complemented.

“Thank you!” said Zelda.

“I used to have a stuffed horse too.” said Link. “but she was a bit bigger than this one and my mom got her at a garage sale. Her name was Epona. She had a red coat and white mane. I really loved that doll, but my dad got rid of all my toys when he started training me. I would have hid her away if I weren’t so scared of getting caught.”

“I’m sorry.” said Zelda. “He really did treat you awful.”

“Yea...” said Link. “You know, I think he may actually have a problem. Mentally I mean. My family, well, there’s been this cycle of abuse for a while. I think my grandmother was even worse to him than he was to me, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if she was the cause for many of my dad’s issues. She was really nasty to me as well. You know that night we left and my dad beat me so hard I was bleeding? That’s actually rare. He actually prefers not to “cause too much damage” as he describes it. He only gets that way when he’s blinded by rage. But my grandmother on the other hand, she was not afraid to draw blood. I heard she even stabbed him once, and then left him out in field to try and get home by himself in order to test his resilience. It could just be a family rumor, but I think I’ve seen the scar left by the knife on his body. I know it’s different from his other scars because it’s the only one he seems self conscious about and tries to hide. He has other, bigger scars from war that he pays no mind to, but that one stab wound scar, he hides it like he’s trying to shove away a bad memory.”

“That’s awful...” said Zelda. She wish she could come up with something else to say, but that’s all she could think of.

“And you wanna know what really sucks?” said Link. “She was treated the same way by her own parents. Maybe even worse. Back when she was still alive she used to scare me with stories of how she was raised. One of the things she told me was that her and her brother were once locked in a cellar for a week without food or a place to go to the bathroom, and the only water they had came from a leaky pipe. She threatened she would do these things to me if I didn’t behave. She was old though, and only really had the strength to slap me around a few times. I never got it as bad as my dad did when he was a kid.”

Zelda said nothing this time. She only held his hand.

“You know... When we became friends, it was the first time I felt like someone actually cared about me in years. And without you I would have never left, we would have never gone with Urbosa, or rescued Mipha and Sidon. Without you right now I would have still been with my dad. I would have still been lonely and hoping that every day was my last. I may have even grown up to be like him! But now that I have you I just...” tears began to well up in his eyes. “I feel like I’m home.”

Zelda pulled herself closer to him. 

“I feel the same way.” she said, looking deep into his turquoise blue eyes. “Without you I would be stuck at home right now stressing out over grades, or getting yelled at by my father. I would have been stuck on the path that he lay out for me, never being able to choose my own way. But you... you got me off that path, and now we’re on this amazing adventure together!” 

She pressed her forehead against his.

“You’re my hero Link, and... I love you.”

Then, she closed her eyes, brought her face close up to his and pressed her lips ever so gently against his.  
She slowly pulled away and Link covered his face with his hands. He was crying.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have... You don’t feel the same way do you?”

Link could barely speak between his sobs. “I do... I have Since I first lay eyes on you.”

Now Zelda was starting to cry. She pulled herself closer to him and held on to him tightly, and he did the same to her.

“I love you Zelda. I love you more than anything.” Link whispered into her ear.

“I love you too Link. I want to be with you forever.” she whispered back to him.

“But...I should tell you something.” said Link as he pulled away.

“Whats wrong?” asked Zelda.

“I... I don’t know if you’ll still want me if I tell you, but I have to. It’s only right that you know, if we’re going to do this.” said Link.

Zelda looked at him funny. “Link, would could possibly make me not like you?” 

He let out a deep sigh and took a second to mentally prepare himself. “Do you remember when I came to school one day with my neck covered in bruises?” 

“Yes, I do remember that.” said Zelda.

“My dad he uh... He strangled me the night before. He was really furious at me. He... He found something out about me that I had been trying to hide for years. I forgot to close out the tabs on my laptop and he saw when he went to borrow it. I was... I was looking up information on things like surgery and medication costs to help with um... transitioning.” Link nervously fiddled with his earring. “I’m transgender.” 

“I know that already.” said Zelda.

“Wait, what? Oh...” Link felt embarrassed.

“Yea I sort of figured it out when I was talking with Mipha.” she explained. “I didn’t tell you though because I didn’t want you to feel like your privacy had been invaded.” 

“Wait, so you’re okay with this? You aren’t mad at me or anything?” said Link, who was honestly surprised.

“Of course not! You’re still my Link. The same cute boy I met in science class.”

Link blushed. “It’s... not often that people still like me after I tell them.”

“Well I still love you just the same.” Zelda said before she leaned in a gave him another kiss, this one being slower and deeper. 

When they broke the kiss, Link snuggled up close to Zelda, wrapped his arms around her, and nestled his face into her neck. 

“Thank you.” he whispered. 

Then he kissed her on the neck which made a shiver run down her spine, but it wasn’t a bad one.

“I’m going to take a nap. You mind if I hold you like this?” Link asked.

“Not at all.” said Zelda. “You can hold me all you want.”

Link liked the sound of that.

Urbosa stopped at a gas station and stepped out to refuel. Link and Zelda lay peacefully together in each other’s warm embrace.  
Just as Link was about to drift off to sleep in his new lover’s arms, they heard a commotion coming from outside. Mipha got up and looked through the window.

“Is that Revali?” she said. “What on earth is he doing back?”

Link and Zelda climbed down to see what was going on.

“He looks upset about something.” Mipha pointed out.

Then the door violently slid open and Urbosa rushed inside.

“We need to go NOW!” 

“What’s wrong?” Zelda asked, now worried.

Revali hobbled into the vehicle out of breath. “No time to explain just drive! For the love of the gods DRIVE!”

Urbosa hit the gas pedal which caused everyone to jolt back.  
Revali collapsed to the floor and Link rushed over to help him. He helped him up on to the couch and his heart jumped when he saw a trail of red spots on the carpet. 

Mipha gasped in horror. “Revali, you’ve been shot!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapter was really short. :V


	17. Chapter 17

“Where were you shot?!” Zelda asked frantically.

“My right leg.” Revali said, his eyes squeezed shut from the pain.

“I can heal him if the bullet isn’t still in his leg!” Said Mipha. “Is there an exit wound?” 

“I don’t think so.” said Revali.

Sidon began to sob loudly. “Revali is gonna die!” 

“I am not going to die! We just need to get out this bullet out of my leg!” 

“UM, GUYS!” they could hear Daruk’s muffled voice shout from outside. Then they could hear sound of sirens.

Zelda ran to the back of the trailer and looked out the window to see the flashing lights of what looked like several police cars out in the distance.

“There’s police after us! Revali what did you do?!”

“I didn’t do anything!” shouted the panicking Rito. “I was flying my way home and all of a sudden I hear sirens from below! I thought they were after someone else until before I knew it I had a bullet in my leg!”

“They’re probably after Sidon and Mipha. We need to find a way to lose them!” said Urbosa.

This only made Sidon cry even more. Mipha rushed over to him and held him tightly. 

“BANG BANG” the sound of gunshots fired.

“AGH!” 

The entire trailer shook and a large dent formed in the ceiling. 

“Did Daruk just jump on top of the trailer?!” said Revali.

“It’s fine! It’s probably safer for him up there.” said Urbosa.

“But what if he slows us down?”

“Then I’ll just have to drive faster!”

Urbosa slammed on the gas pedal and everyone had to hold on or else they would have all been sent flying to the back of the trailer.

Mipha handed Sidon over to Link and went over to Revali to try and help him.

“AHG!” Revali yelped in pain. “What are you doing?!”

“Just hold still!” said Mipha as she begin to dig one of her claws into his bullet hole wound.

“SHIT! SHIT! THAT HURTS!” Revali cried out.

“I said hold still!” Mipha shouted at him. 

It was odd to hear Mipha shout. She was always soft spoken, even when she was angry.

More blood dripped onto the couch and the carpet. Sidon was screaming his lungs out at this point. 

The sound of the sirens grew closer. 

“Urbosa! They’re gaining on us!” Zelda cried out. 

Urbosa said nothing, and made a sharp left turn that no one was anticipating and it made Mipha fall over and scratch Revali’s outer thigh, leaving four long claw marks. 

“AAAAGH! I PRAY TO HYLIA YOU NEVER BECOME A SURGEON!” Revali yelled out.

Zelda noticed that Link was visibly trembling as he clung on to Sidon. 

“I don’t want to go back, they’re gonna take me back, I can’t go back!” she could hear him muttering to himself.

Zelda wrapped her arms around him. “They aren’t going to take you back to your father, I won’t let them!”

“Wait excuse me?! You’re in trouble too?! Urbosa, I thought you said these were your friends’ kids!” Revali said, now panicking even more. 

“Oh for Hylia’s sake, now is not the time!” said Urbosa.

“Who are these kids?!” Revali demanded to know. “Agh! Careful Mipha!”

“I’m trying my best just hold on!” 

Urbosa made another sharp turn that nearly sent Daruk flying off the roof. 

“Hey! Could you be more careful please?” The goron called out.

“Who are these kids and why did you lie about them?!” Revali demanded to know again.

Zelda spoke up, “We’re runaways okay!” 

“WHAT?! Urbosa you know you could get arrested for kidnapping right?!” Revali shouted.

“Right now that’s the least of our problems!” Urbosa shouted back.

“Oh it isn’t a problem right now? That’s great to know!” Revali said sarcastically. “I mean, it’s not like we could have kidnapping charges placed on us ON TOP of charges for breaking into a TOP SECRET GOVERNMENT FACILITY!!!!”

“Well what else would you except me to do?!” said Urbosa who was quickly starting to lose her patience. “Leave an emotionally scarred girl and boy who was getting beat up by his dad left to fend for themselves on their own?! Just so they can get caught and returned to the same shitty situation they were living in before?”

“Well how about calling the police! That would have been a great idea! But now it’s a little to late for that CONSIDERING THE CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES!”

Zelda spoke up in her friend’s defense. “That never worked for Link before and I would have probably just been taken back! And even if it did work Link would have been put into a foster home away from me!” 

“Oh so you went with the childrens’ plan instead of taking charge like a responsible adult? That’s just fantastic! Urbosa how could you do something so reckless?!”

“Revali I swear to Nayru HOLD STILL!” Mipha was getting fed up with his squirming. 

“I’d rather be behind bars for the rest of my life than let anyone hurt these kids!” Urbosa yelled back fiercely. “I made a promise! I... I promised her... I would protect Zelda...”

Her? Who was “Her?”

“What are you talking about Urbosa?” Zelda asked.

More gunshots could be heard.

“AAAH! I think one nicked me on one of my back rocks!” Daruk cried out.

“That does it! I’m going off road and driving down this steep mountainside!” Urbosa announced.

“The hell you are!” Revali protested. “You’re going to get us ki- AAAAAAAAGH!!!!”

“I GOT IT!” Mipha exclaimed as she finally yanked the bullet out from his leg. 

“EVERYBODY HOLD ON!” 

Although the vehicle was only in the air for a few seconds, it had felt like slow motion. Objects and people began to gracefully float through the air. Sidon, Link, and Zelda lost their grips on each other and little Sidon went flying upwards, looking like someone had tossed up a red football. Link crashed right into Zelda and Revali was sent back, blood from his wound dripping out even more. Mipha tried to hang on by grabbing on to the couch, but still couldn’t keep her place end ended up ripping open a pillow with her claws, causing the cotton inside to spill out.  
As soon as the trailer’s wheels returned to the earth, time sped up at an uncontrollable rate. Cotten flew into people’s faces, Revali’s blood splattered everywhere as he was thrown to the ground, Sidon crash landed into Mipha who luckily caught him, Link elbow rammed right into Zelda’s face and the both landed in the back of the bottom bunk.  
The vehicle’s speed only accelerated as they went downhill. Condiments and supplies were spilling out of the cupboards and shelves. Urbosa was dead focused on driving while everyone else who was along for the bumpy ride were collectively screaming, even Daruk could be heard making a high-pitched shriek from atop the trailer.  
Then the trailer made a slamming stop. Zelda couldn’t process what was going on at first. She was too shaken. Her heartbeat was racing at a million miles per hour, her nose hurt a lot for some reason, and she could feel something pinning her down which made her panic. But when she saw it was only Link who had landed on top of her, she began to calm down a bit.  
Link got up off of her and then helped her sit up.

“Zelda, your nose is bleeding!” said Link in shock.

She touched her nose which caused the pain to increase. 

“I-I think it’s broken!” this did not help her nerves at all.

Mipha was able to protect Sidon by shielding him with her own body. She let go of him, but he remained there, stunned at what just happened. Mipha coughed out some couch cotton flew into her mouth, and pulled out more of it from under her ear fins.  
A loud “THUD” could be heard when Daruk slid off the roof and on to the dirt ground outside.  
Revali slowly picked himself off the ground and leaned on the counter for balance.

“This is the worst trip I have ever been on in my life.” he muttered to himself. 

Urbosa then spoke loudly and suddenly, which made everyone jump “We need to ditch the trailer! Grab any supplies you can!”

Everyone looked just at her, still trying to get their bearings.

“I mean NOW! Now people!” she ordered.

Everyone scrambled up to gather what they could, aside from Ravali who Urbosa picked up and handed over to Daruk, despite the Rito’s protests.  
Zelda scanned the area frantically for Archimedes. She couldn’t find him anywhere. 

“I’ve still got your horse!” Link said to her.

He handed her the small stuffed animal and she took it and held it close to her chest.

“Oh thank you Link!” she said, still shaking. 

She grabbed her backpack and stuffed it with as much as she could. Her mind was too panicked to process much of what she was doing, so she just grabbed anything random thing she could find around her.  
Link went to the fridge and tried to gather as much food as he could. Urbosa gathered a bunch of blankets, extra clothes, and sleeping bags, while Mipha grabbed tools like a lighter, some candles, a lantern, and a pocket knife. Sidon didn’t know what to do so he just grabbed a pillow.  
Seconds later everyone poured out of the trailer and ran off together into the cold woods. They didn’t stop, knowing they had to get as far way from the trailer as they could. Link ended up taking the lead, with him being the fastest runner in the group even despite the fact that he was carrying an armload of food.  
Eventually everyone got tired and they had to take a break. There was a cave nearby that Link spotted out and they all went to hit in it.

“What do we do now?” asked Sidon.

“I think we should lay low for a day, we don’t want to get spotted by helicopter.

Daruk set Revali on the ground and Mipha rushed over to heal his leg. 

“How am I going to get to Yunabo now? You don’t think they’re after me too do you?” Daruk asked.

“It’s likely they are. If they recognized Revali it’s likely that they’d recognize you too, as well as the rest of us. I’m sorry.” answered Urbosa.

Daruk sat down on the ground and put his hands on his head. “Oh no... Oh no, no, no... I need to get to him!”

“You aren’t going to ever be able to now that that the police are after you.” said Revali.

“But little Yunobo! He needs me!” Daruk said distraught. “My little Yunobo...”

There was a solemn silence among them. Daruk stared at the dirt ground saying nothing, but everyone could tell that he was deeply saddened.

“I’m sorry.” said Sidon in a quiet voice. “It’s my fault, I should have gone back for Mipha by myself.”

“If you did that you probably would have been caught. It’s my fault for getting us caught in the first place.” said Mipha. “It happened when I was swimming out in the rain alone. Father told me to stay home that day because it might storm, but I didn’t listen. I was careless and foolish. One moment I was catching a porgy, the next moment I had been hit with a tranquilizer dart and passed out. Then the next day Sidon went out looking for me and he was captured too.”

“Don’t blame yourself Mipha.” said Daruk. “I was the one who got scared by the dogs and set off the alarm. It’s my fault.”

“But if you didn’t how else would I have gotten out?” said Mipha. “My tank was much higher security than Sidon’s and it would have been impossible, or taken too long to get through by normal means.”

“I guess so...” said Daruk.

“I think we should all stop blaming ourselves and focus on what to do next.” Said Urbosa. 

“Are we going to have to keep running forever?” asked Zelda, who was still shaken.

“I don’t know, to tell you the truth.” said Urbosa. “If anyone has a plan, feel free to speak up.”

Everyone paused to think for a while. 

“Maybe we could change our identities?” suggested Link.

“That sounds like more trouble than it’s worth. I don’t want to live the rest of my life as someone I’m not” said Zelda.

“He may have the right idea though.” said Urbosa. “If things get even more desperate than they are now we may have to change our appearance and go by different names for a while. Maybe not the rest of our lives though.”

“Ooh! Ooh!” Sidon raised his hand and started jumping up and down. “I call the name Gyarados!”

“I think one of the worst things you could change your name to is something that stands out too much.” said Urbosa.

“Aww.” said Sidon.

“I’m part sheikah, maybe I could pass as one?” said Zelda.

“Hmm, you look a lot more hylian than sheikah, but maybe if you wore red contacts it might work.” said Link.

“Wouldn’t that technically be racist?” asked Revali.

“I am literally part sheikah though. I don’t think it would be. I think...” said Zelda. 

“How much sheikah blood do you have?”

“My father is half sheikah but my mother was fully hylain, for the most part anyways. There were most likely some other races mixed into our bloodline on her side of the family in the past.”

“Really? You’re at least a quarter sheikah? I would have never guessed.” 

“Hey Revali you should rename yourself Falco Lambardi” said Link with a smirk.

A snicker could be heard coming from Urbosa at the comment. 

“Who is Falco Lambardi?” Revali asked, confused at why they found it so funny. 

“Wait! I have an idea!” said Mipha. “My father! If we can make it to Zora’s Domain where I live, we can tell my father what’s happened and he can take legal action for me and Sidon’s kidnapping and clear all your names! He’s also the mayor and has authority over there! And he’ll also certainly be grateful to you for rescuing us!”

“That’s a great idea!” said Urbosa. 

“Then I could get Yunobo!” said Daruk, who was now cheered up.

“How are we going to get there though? Zora’s domain is on the other side of the country!” said Zelda.

“We go with our original plan. We’ll have to take the long route and drive around.”

“Drive with what exactly?” asked Revali.

“Well er, eventually we may have to “borrow” a vehicle.” said Urbosa.

“Oh good! That’s fine! Why not add grand theft auto to the list of things the police want us for? It’s not like we could get into any more trouble than we already are!”

“Would you rather walk around the entire country or are you going to stop being a whiny little bitch about everything?”

“EXCUSE ME?!”

“Oookay guys, no need to fight!” said Daruk. “I think I’ve had enough of that today after hearing you guys yell at each other while clinging on to the roof of a trailer for dear life.” 

“Wait, you heard all that?” asked Zelda.

“Kinda hard not to when everyone is screaming each word they say.” said Daruk.

“Wait, what’s going to happen with us?” asked Link. “If we go to Mipha’s dad and tell him, we could still get caught and Urbosa could still get arrested for kidnapping.”

“Maybe my father could bail her out? He is very generous to those who help him, and would be especially to her since she helped save Sidon and I.” said Mipha. “But as for you and Zelda, well... I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Maybe we could leave on our own once we get to a certain point?” suggested Zelda. “How would you feel about that Link.”

He only looked at the ground and shrugged. 

“No, there is no way in hell I’m leaving you two behind.” said Urbosa. “I don’t mind getting into trouble if it means keeping you two safe. I’ll drop everyone else off at Zora’s Domain and the three of us will continue on.”

“Are you sure?” asked Zelda. 

Urbosa gave a firm nod. “Yes, I’m sure.”

“And then after you and Zelda turn 18 you could still stay at our home right?” Mipha asked Link.

“Yea, sounds like a plan to me.” said Link. “Sounds like an adventure.”


	18. Chapter 18

“I was able to grab some blankets and sleeping bags. Now let’s see here, looks like Link was able to grab a bunch of bags of chips, candy bars, and two boxes of cereal. How about you Mipha?”

“I have a lighter, a lantern, and a pocket knife. No oil for the lantern though, sorry.”

“Ooh, mind if I have that pocket knife?” asked Link. “I’m good with handling sharp weapons.”

“What would you need a sharp weapon for?” asked Revali.

“Well we are out in the middle of a forrest, and it’s much denser than the one we got the fish from. There could be a few bokoblins around here, you can never be too careful.” said Zelda.

Mipha gave Link the knife and they moved on to the next person. 

“You manage to snag anything Revali?” 

“Nickleback.”

“UUUGH! Why!”

“IT’S ART!”

“I got a pillow!”

“Great job Sidon! How about you Zelda?”

Zelda opened up her backpack and took out the contents. A toothbrush, a pair of scissors, a role of duct tape, the empty box of pancake batter, a box of pencils, Archimedes, the blue nightshade Link had given to her which was now shriveled up but still somehow had a faint glow, and a can of white spray paint.

“Sheesh did you just grab anything you saw?” asked Revali.

“Leave her alone!” Link snapped at the rito. “She was having panic attack!”

“Alright sheesh!” Revali backed off.

“Zelda your nose! I can’t believe I didn’t notice” said Mipha.

Zelda had completely forgotten about her broken nose.

“Don’t worry I’ll fix you up.”

Mipha went over to Zelda. “I’ll have to straighten your nose or else it will heal crooked. Sorry but this may hurt.”

Zelda squeezed her eyes shut as Mipha handled her bruised up nose with care. It only took her a few minutes for her to heal it completely.

“Good thing it wasn’t a bad break. That would have taken me longer” Mipha said when she was done.

“I think it was my fault.” said Link. “I’m pretty sure I rammed my elbow into your face when I crashed into to you. I’m so sorry!”

“I’m not mad at you Link.” Zelda said to him. “It was an an accident.”

“Where are we going to put all this stuff?” asked Daruk.

“Zelda is the only one with a bag. I say we put what we can there, and leave out what we don’t need.” said Revali.

“We could also use the case from the pillow that Sidon got to carry things.” said Urbosa.

Zelda put the flower and Archimedes back into her bag first. They weren’t really necessities, but they still meant a lot to her. Then she put in the lighter, the pair scissors, the role of duct tape, the candy bars, and any extra clothes she could fit. The rest of the food went into Sidon’s pillow case.

“We may have to eventually ditch a few of the blankets and other sleeping supplies, but tonight we can make good use of them.” said Urbosa.

“What about all the stuff we don’t need?” asked Daruk.

“Some of it could be used for campfire fuel. The rest well, I hate to leave trash out in the forrest but we don’t have much of a choice right now.” said Urbosa.

“Oh speaking of which, I’m freezing!” said Mipha, who was shivering. “We should get a fire started soon before night falls and it gets colder!”

“I know how to start a fire.” said Link. “I’ll go out and gather some wood. I don’t think the empty box and the pencils will last very long.”

“Can I come with you?” asked Zelda.

“Sure, I was just about to ask you.” Link smiled.

“Just don’t be out too long.” said Urbosa.

Link and Zelda left the group to go out to gather some firewood. It wasn’t a very difficult task, there were broken sticks all over the ground. 

“Mind if we not go back yet?” asked Zelda. “Sorry I just need to be away from everyone else for a while. I’m still a bit shaken up from the crash.”

“You want me to go?” asked Link.

“No, I want you to stay with me.” she said to him.

They set the sticks they had gathered on the ground beside them.

“You look cold, I could give you my jacket.” offered Link.

“No, then you’d be cold.” Zelda denied the offer.

“It’s fine. I think I can handle this weather for a little while.” 

“No, I don’t want you to get sick!” Zelda said to him firmly. 

“Alright, alright. But if you start shivering too much I’m putting jacket on you wether you like it or not.”

“You do that and I’ll get that duct tape and strap that jacket down to your body!”

“Not if I get to the duct tape first and strap this jacket down to YOUR body!” 

“Then I’ll just have to hold it down on you!” 

Zelda playfully grabbed him, making him giggle as he made a low effort to try and wiggle away. 

“Oh no you don’t!”

She pulled pulled him close to her and pinned him up against a tree. Link froze. Some feeling inside him sparked when she did that. His cheeks and ears turned pink with blush as he looked into her playful green eyes. His breathing became more heavy and his heart beat faster. Then he leaned leaned in to kiss her. She kissed him back, slow and deep. Then she started laying kisses along his neck. His legs began to turn to jelly. She began to nibble which made him lose his balance even more. He had to lean against the tree or he no doubt would have fallen over. 

“I’m so glad you’re here with me.” Zelda whispered.

“Kiss me again... please.” Link requested in shakey voice.

She kissed him on the lips again and ran her fingers through his golden colored hair. They kept going at it, Zelda greatly enjoying the sounds of Link’s giggles and moans.  
Link’s eyes widened as he felt her hand sliding up his shirt. He wished he had a flat chest so she could run her fingers along his pectorals, but he was wearing his binder and didn’t like anyone touching that area. Zelda figured this, so she only stuck to exploring his abdomen and back.

She broke her kiss for a moment to speak. “I didn’t know you were so muscular Link.” she said in a flirtatious voice.

“I-I-I W-Work out a lot.” Link tried to come off as sexy. He failed miserably. But Zelda didn’t mind.

She laughed. “You are so cute!”

She went back to nibbling on his neck which made him let out a high pitched squeak. Then he realized that unlike Zelda, he was doing nothing with his hands. They were just sort of awkwardly dangling there at his sides. He figured he should do something. He blushed even harder at the thoughts that came into his mind. He didn’t want to take things too far, but he also didn’t want to kill the mood by doing something wrong. 

“Um... Zelda?” he began to ask.

“Yes my love?” she replied into his neck.

“C-Can I uh... Can I t-touch your butt?”

Zelda couldn’t help but laugh. “Sure! go ahead!”

Link’s heart raced as he began to move his trembling hands. 

“This is happening. Holy shit this is really happening!” he thought to himself. 

He was so nervous. He had never touched anyone’s butt aside from his own before. He never thought he’d ever get this far with anyone he liked! He wondered if he should bail, fearing that he might do something wrong. No! He didn’t want this moment to end. He reached out, and closed his eyes, he was about to do it. He was about to toutch the butt.

“Oh come on! Are you kidding me?!” Revali’s voice squawked from nearby. “You two are NOT doing this right now! No, no, no, no, NO!”

Link and Zelda quickly pulled away from each other, unable to hide the embarrassed expressions on their faces.  
Revali grouchily marched over to them and pointed towards the campsite. 

“Both of you go back to the cave, now!” 

The two of them listened to the adult and slowly started back towards to the campsite, heads bowed in shame.  
Revali picked up the firewood they had gathered and began on his way back as well.

“Damn teenagers.” he muttered under his breath. 

“There you are! What took you two so long?” Urbosa asked when they arrived back at the cave. 

“I caught them copulating out in the middle of the woods!” Revali tattled.

“We were not copulating!” Zelda denied the false accusation. “We just... got a little distracted that’s all.”

“Mipha what’s copulating?” Sidon asked innocently.

Mipha’s pupils constricted and her cheeks flashed red 

“I wouldn’t exactly call feeling each other up under a tree “a little distracted” but go off I guess.” said Revali.

“Okay fine! We were making out!” Zelda admitted. “But we were not “copulating”.” 

“Mipha, what’s feeling up mean?”

Mipha covered her brother’s ears. “Could you please not have this conversation in front of a young child?”

Urbosa could not contain her laughter. She bursted out into hysterics. 

“It’s not funny!” said Revali annoyed.

Urbosa continued to laugh.

“It is a little funny” Daruk snickered.

“I’m uh, I’m gonna go start the fire now.” Link muttered, feeling very awkward.

Link crouched down to the ground and set up some wood. 

“Zelda, could I have that lighter please?”

Zelda got her backpack and rummaged around through the clothing to find the lighter. She felt something odd, it was like smooth pieces of paper. She pulled them out and froze. They were the old photographs of her family that she found in the attic. She had forgotten that she hid them in there.  
She could hear the sound of her father’s voice in her head, but he was not yelling or angry. It was from before her mother had died. It was a distant memory, one she had nearly forgotten. 

“Where’s the little princess? I can’t seem to find her!”

Zelda giggled from inside the cardboard box she was hiding in. 

“Hmm, I wonder where that sound could have come from?”

She giggled again.

“Odd, this box seems to be making noises.” 

The large man knelt down in front of the box.

“Maybe I should see what’s inside it!”

Then Zelda popped out of the box, throwing handfuls of packing peanuts in the air. She screamed in delight at the sight of her father. 

“There’s the little princess!”

She held out her hands so he could pick her up. He did so and gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

She laughed. “Papa your beard is tickley!”

She wondered, has he changed? Did her leaving cause him to think things over and reconsider his actions? Or did he just blame it all on something else like he usually did? Would it be the same if she went back? She knew Link could never go back, but he had it far worse that she ever did. It was too late to go back now though, and she couldn’t leave Link and she didn’t want to. But nevertheless, she realized. She missed her dad.

“Um, Zelda? The lighter?” 

She snapped out of her thoughts. “Oh uh, yea. Sorry.”

She put the photos back in her bag and rummaged around some more until she found the lighter and tossed it over to Link.

“You okay Zel? You don’t look so good.” He said.

“I’m fine, just still embarrassed from getting caught with you I guess...”

Link blushed. “Ah yea, about that. Sorry if I made things weird.”

“You didn’t.” said Zelda. “I really enjoyed you.”

Link blushed even harder.  
He lit the fire and everyone except Urbosa, who could handle the cold, grabbed a blanket and gathered around.

“Anyone want some chips or dry cereal?” Urbosa offered.

“I’ll take a bag of Funyuns.” said Link.

Urbosa reached into the pillowcase and tossed him a bag.

“Do you have any Honey Nut Cheerios?” asked Revali.

Urbosa looked in the bag. “No, but I have regular plain cheerios.”

“Ew, pass.”

“Yea, I agree honestly. I bought these on accident thinking they were Honey Nut Cheerios. Who even likes the plain ones? Aside from babies that is.”

She looked back in the pillow case. “Now these are different. I don’t even remember buying this cereal.”

She pulled out a black box of cereal. “What’s Nintendo Cereal System?”

“Never heard of it.” said Revali.

“Can I see?” asked Sidon.

Urbosa handed over the box of cereal to the little zora. He examined the box art.

“It’s got cartoon characters on it!” he said.

“Must be a children’s cereal then.” Mipha commented.

“I like the fat guy with the red hat and mustache!” said Sidon.

Daruk leaned over to look at the box. “Hey that green elf kid on next to the red mustache guy kinda looks like Link!”

Zelda leaned over to look too. “Heh, you’re kinda right!”

Revali went over to look at it. “Eh, I don’t see it. That kid has darker hair and he looks like he’s 12. How old is Link? 15?”

“I’m 17.” Link corrected him. “And let me see that!”

Revali handed the box over to him and he took a look at it. “Hmm... I dunno.” Link scratched the back of his head. “The cereal looks tasty though. I’m gonna try it.”

He opened up the box of cereal and grabbed a handful. It was colorful and smelled fruity. He eagerly shoved it into his mouth and chewed it for a while before spitting it back out.

“Ugh, it’s so stale!” He looked at the expiration date. “This says it expired in 1988!”

“Wait, so you’ll spit out 29 year old cereal but will willingly eat rocks?” said Revali.

Link just shrugged. 

“Huh, maybe it was left behind by the previous owner of the trailer. It was used and kind of old.” said Urbosa. “Just throw it it the fire if it’s no good.”

Link tossed the long expired cereal into the flames and watched it burn up. 

“I’m really not that cold. Anyone want my blanket?” Revali offered.

“PLEASE” Daruk said in desperation.

He yanked the blanket right off of him and wrapped himself up.

“How are you not cold?” asked Mipha.

“I grew up right next to Hebra, and my feathers naturally keep me warm in very cold weather.” Revali explained.

“Why don’t Zoras do well in the cold?” asked Link.

Mipha explained. “Well, we actually can handle very cold water. It’s cold air that can hurt us. It freezes the moisture on our skin.” 

“And as for us gorons” Daruk said through chattering teeth. “We may be big and bulky, but we’re that way to withstand the heat, not the cold!”

“That’s right! Aren’t you a highly specialized species of tortoise?” said Zelda.

“Yes! And we’re c-c-cold blooded!” 

“Wow, I actually didn’t know that.” said Urbosa. “That’s really interesting.”

“The closest living species gorons are related to is the Galápagos tortoise!” Zelda shared.

“Wow!” said Daruk. “Even I d-d-didn’t know that! Know any other cool facts?”

“Gerudo are the only elven race native to Hyrule that can be born with round ears as a hereditary trait.”

“Oh yea, that one I knew” said Urbosa. “My great aunt had round ears.”

“It’s because they have more human DNA than any other elven race. They descended from middle eastern human immigrants who intermarried with Hylians and Sheikah. Sheikah are already a cross between east asain humans and wood elves, and Hylians are a cross between Sheikah and more humans from every other human race.”

“How did humans and wood elves even cross here in the first place?” asked Link.

“I’m guessing you didn’t pay attention in history class.”

“Nope. Was probably asleep.”

“Well, no one is exactly sure how Sheikah came to be, but there are a few theories. Some say they may have descended from stranded explorers, or maybe refugees searching for a new land. There’s a few other theories as well, but like I said no one knows for sure. Hylains on the other hand are the result of a failed colonization attempt from foreign countries. The colonizers were not used to the extreme varying weather conditions here and eventually gave up, but they did have a few cultural influences and ended up creating new race of half-elven by intermarrying with the natives.”

“Wow, you’re really smart!” Sidon complemented.

“Aw, thank you!” Zelda responded to his kind words.

Mipha yawned. “I’m tired. I’m going to sleep now, and you should too Sidon.”

Her younger brother did not protest. He took his pillow and and blanket curled up with it right there by the fire.  
Mipha got up and got them both a sleeping bag.

“I’m gonna try to sleep too.” said Daruk.

He scooted over closer to the fire and started digging a shallow hole into the ground. Then he got inside it and curled up into a ball with the blankets draped over him. 

“I think all of us should get some rest.” said Urbosa. “There’s only two sleeping bags and one blanket left though, but I’m guessing you and Link don’t mind sharing.”

“Not at all.” said Zelda.

“All I really need is the sleeping bag.” said Urbosa. “You want to share Revali?”

“Oh no, far too cramped for me.” he said. “I’ll just keep watch.”

Link and Zelda snuggled up in their bag with the blanket covering them as well.  
Link had his arm protectively draped over Zelda.

“Quite the day wasn’t it?” Zelda said. 

“Went fishing, got myself a new girlfriend, got involved in a police chase, survived a car crash, hid out in the woods, made out under a tree, ate some crappy cereal, and now we’re trying to survive a freezing cold night in a cave out in the wilderness. I’d say it’s been quite the day.” said Link.

“Sheesh, hard to believe that was all in one day!” said Zelda. “I’m getting anxious over what tomorrow might bring. To be honest I’m a bit frightened.”

Link held her a little more tightly. “Hey, you got me. I’m not gonna let anything bad happen to you.” 

They lay there for a several minutes saying nothing, only listening to each other’s soft breathing and the sound of the crackling fire and crickets chirping in the night. 

“Link..”

“Yes?”

“Do you think I’m... Selfish?”

“Why would I think that?”

Zelda turned on to her back and looked up at the ceiling of the cave. “It’s just that, you had it so much worse than me back home. Your family has a long history of abuse, your mother left you with your physically violent father who took away everything from you. Your whole life has been a struggle, but me? I just got yelled at. My father never hit me. If anyone had ever dared threaten my safety he would call the police. My mother never made the choice to leave me behind, she wanted to stay with me. My troubles were nothing compared to yours! And I feel selfish for ever thinking-“

“Hey.” Link cut her off. “Don’t belittle yourself like that. It doesn’t matter how much worse I got it, you still got hurt. Just because your pain wasn’t physical doesn’t make your feelings any less valid.” 

“I miss him though...” Zelda confessed. “I know I can’t go back now, but I feel like if I was really that hurt... I should still be angry with him.”

There was a moment of silence before Link responded. “I miss my dad too...”

“You do?”

“Yea. He’s cold and harsh but he’s still my dad. He taught me almost everything I know. Even after mom left he had his moments, though they were few and far between. One time when I was 9, my grandma hit me in the face with a wooden spoon and it knocked out one of my teeth. I was expecting my dad to just let it happen like he usually did when she was slapping me around but he didn’t. He stood up for me. He yelled at her, his own mother, who he was terrified of might I add. I think he only did it because he had a rule against breaking anything or drawing blood, when he wasn’t blinded by rage that is. But still, when he did that, it was the first time in years that I felt like he was my protector. For the rest of that day he hovered over me, keeping an eye on my grandmother and making sure she didn’t try to hit me again. He kept me safe that day, and I miss moments like that. Moments when I felt safe with him and he felt like well, my dad. And I love my dad. He wasn’t always an asshole, just like yours wasn’t.”

Zelda thought for a while. Then she turned to face him and wrapped her arm around his waist and pressed her head against his chest. “Do you think we’ll ever see them again?” 

“Maybe. I don’t think I even want to see him again honestly.” said Link. “But if I do see him again, I want it to be years from now, when I have a family and can support myself on my own. When he wont be able to try and control me.”

“I don’t really know if I want to see my father again or not.” said Zelda. “If I ever see him again, I want to be independent and financially stable like you said. But... I want him to be proud of me. I guess it’s a result of years of constantly seeking his approval, and I know it’s bad but, I want him to see that I was able to find a happy fulfilling life for myself without him controlling my every move, and maybe he’ll realize why I left, and maybe he’ll... oh I don’t know...”

“Apologize so you can let him back in your life?” 

“Yes, I think that’s it.” said Zelda. “But I’m also scared that he will only be more cross with me. That he won’t approve of who I married or what profession I have or that my children are not blood related to us.”

“Wait, why would he get upset at you for not having biological children?” Link asked.

“My family descended from ancient royals. I’m supposed to be very proud of it, and my father wants me to have biologically related children so they could also have royal blood. It’s ridiculous coming from him honestly, because it’s not even on his side of the family! It’s on my mother’s! Well, he did descend from nobles, but he acts like he’s the one who-“

“No I mean, why can’t your kids be related to you?”

Zelda paused. Why did she say that? Then she realized. “Well I er... I was thinking I’d have to adopt because... um...” she could feel her self starting sweat, even in the cold weather. “The person I want to marry I... Don’t think I’d be able to er, well... P-Procreate? With?” She felt a wave of anxiety wash over her when the words came out of her mouth. This was so awkward.

“Wait... Are you talking about me?”

“Well I... I know it’s far too early to be making plans but I just... I can’t picture myself being with anyone else.”

Zelda nearly gasped when she felt Link’s grip on her suddenly get tighter.

“I’ll marry you! Of course I’ll marry you! I’d do it right now if I could!” she could hear his voice shaking on the verge of tears.

“I hope we last that long Link... I want us to, badly.”

“I think we will! I know most first relationships don’t last, but I think we might be different.”

“But how do we know we’re not just some lovesick kids? Don’t they all think that?”

“I can feel it... We’re different. I think you’re my soulmate Zelda.”

Soulmate. Zelda loved that word. It fit her feelings for Link so perfectly.  
She reached her head up to Link’s face and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

“I think you’re my soulmate too Link.”

He kissed her back, and ran his fingers down her long silky sunshine hair. Then-

“Link... is that your hand?”

Link’s face flushed red. “I’m sorry! You said I could before... I’ll stop if you don’t want me too...” He awkwardly removed his hand from her rear end. 

Zelda couldn’t help but laugh. Then Link started to laugh too.

“I swear to Hylia, if I hear even ONE moan out of either of you, you are both sleeping outside!” Revali’s annoyed voice could be heard.

They were trying not to laugh too loud as to not wake the others, but Revali was not making it easier.  
Eventually the two fell asleep, still entangled with each other. Despite the current situation, everything felt right.

“Oink, Oink.” 

What was that?  
Link awoke and peeped his head above the covers. The freezing cold morning air hit the tips of his ears. 

“Oink, Oink.”

There it was again.  
He his eyes scanned around the campsite. Everyone else was still asleep, including Revali, who was supposed to be keeping watch, but was now perched up on top of Daruk in a deep slumber. 

“Oink, Oink.”

Link searched for the source of the noises. It seemed to be coming from nearby the pillow case of food. There, rummaging around the pillow case, was a short stalky red body. Link made a sigh of relief when he saw that it was only Sidon. He must have gotten up to get a snack.

But wait...

Sidon doesn’t have large protruding ears.


End file.
